Statsguru: After a long LS poll campaign, results will be declared on Tue

Challenges persist for incoming MPs, with over half of the constituencies off-target on 18 out of 33 SDGs

After a long general election campaign, results will be declared on Tuesday. There was considerable enthusiasm among political parties, with a record 751 parties contesting in 2024. However, fewer than 10 per cent of parties won seats in the previous two general elections.

Major parties preferred incumbent members of Parliament (MPs) this time, with the share in Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) total candidates increasing from 39.3 per cent in 2019 to 41.6 per cent in 2024. For Congress, it rose from 9.1 per cent to 11 per cent, according to an analysis of data from the Association for Democratic Reforms.

Their average assets increased by 43.3 per cent between 2019 and 2024. Average assets of all candidates increased from Rs 4.1 crore to Rs 6.2 crore during the same period. BJP candidates had higher average assets of Rs 41.3 crore than Rs 24.7 crore of Congress.

The number of women candidates has increased, yet they accounted for one-tenth of the total. The share of women MPs in total women candidates contesting was 10.9 per cent in 2019, compared to 9.7 per cent in the previous election. It was higher in 2004 at 13.9 per cent.

Challenges persist for incoming MPs, with over half of the constituencies off-target on 18 out of 33 sustainable development goals (SDGs), according to a Business Standard analysis of data from a Lancet study published this year. Off-target constituencies are those, which have not achieved the target by 2021 and will fail to meet by 2030 due to negative or limited improvement between 2016 and 2021. Health insurance among women is another indicator that needs attention with 88.6 per cent off-target.

On other indicators, constituencies have made progress. Around 96 per cent of the total have achieved the goal of adolescent pregnancy among 10-14 year olds. Tobacco use among women is the next best-performing indicator, followed by multidimensional poverty.