 "Political parties bet on affluent candidates")
Nearly 10 per cent of all candidates contesting the Maharashtra elections hold assets in excess of Rs 10 crore each, according to data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Eight of them have assets in excess of Rs 100 crore.
About three out of every four candidates of the five mainstream parties in Maharashtra - the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - have assets of more than Rs 1 crore this year, against one in two in 2009.
According to the ADR analysis of the 2009 Lok Sabha results, in 184 (34 per cent) assembly segments, candidates with the highest declared assets won. In another 24 per cent, candidates with the second highest declared assets won. Thus over half the constituencies returned rich candidates.
"I see no difference between the use of money and muscle power in elections. Each feeds the other and the combination promotes winnability," said Anand Pradhan of the New Delhi-based Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
In Haryana, 42 per cent of candidates have assets of over Rs 1 crore each against 32 per cent in 2009. The number with assets in excess of Rs 10 crore increased from 41 in 2009 to 122 this year. The Rs 100 crore club has nine members in Haryana, one more than in Maharashtra.
In the fiercely competitive battle in Maharashtra, with long-time coalition partners their separate ways just ahead of the elections, there is hardly any decline in the number of candidates with criminal records. From 50 per cent of candidates nominated by the five mainstream parties in 2009, to 49 per cent now.
"For a progressive state like Maharashtra, it is a matter of serious concern that the influence of muscle power refuses to come down," said Jagdeep Chhokar, one of the founders of ADR and a former director in charge of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
The ADR report said, "The chances of winning for a candidate with criminal cases in the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2009 were 18 per cent. For a candidate with a clean record, they were five per cent. When it comes to average assets of candidates, there is little to choose between the two states. What stands out is the parties' marked preference for high net worth candidates in both. In Maharashtra, the average assets of Congress candidates are Rs 7.10 crore and of BJP candidates, Rs 10.33 crore. In Haryana, on the other hand, the average assets of Congress candidates are slightly more than those of the BJP.
Another noticeable trend in both states is opposition parties' preference for tainted candidates. In Maharashtra, for instance, the BJP, Shiv Sena and MNS fielded more candidates facing criminal charges than the Congress and NCP. The Congress and NCP were part of the ruling coalition till recently. In Haryana, too, the ruling Congress has nominated a fewer number of candidates with criminal charges against them.
A similar trend was visible in the four states that went to the polls late last year. While the Congress, the party in opposition, fielded more tainted candidates in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it was the turn of the BJP to give more tickets to candidates with criminal records in Rajasthan and Delhi, the two places where it was then in opposition.
"In some instances, it appears that parties in opposition are more likely to field candidates with criminal records. However, this could be linked to the fact that incumbent parties have greater influence over the state apparatus. However, it is difficult to make systematic claims about such a pattern. If one looks at the 2010 Bihar elections, for instance, the then ruling BJP and Janata Dal (United) had among the highest rates of candidates facing criminal charges, including those of a serious nature," Milan Vaishnav, an associate with the South Asia programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in an emailed response.