Fewer candidates with criminal records

The number of candidates with criminal records contesting the Karnataka Assembly elections this year has come down significantly. But candidates having financial clout are clearly visible, said Karnataka Election Watch Committee, which released its report on 'Candidates' Criminal and Financial Background of phase I 2008 Assembly elections in Karnataka'.

Karnataka Election Watch (KEW), is a non-political, non-partisan citizen initiative which is part of the nation-wide effort co-ordinated by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Speaking after releasing the report, Trilochan Sastry, Professor, IIM-Bangalore, who is also heading the KEW initiative, said, "After analysing the affidavits submitted by the candidates of the different, the overall quality of candidates leaves much to be desired.

 

The criminal records in particular are a little alarming. A lot of candidates are industrialists from the real estate, liquor, mining and other businesses. Unless business interests are aligned to citizen interests this raises interesting questions about governance and democracy."

"Unless this trend is checked, elections, democracy and overall governance will suffer. A lot of candidates have reported huge increase in their assets in the last four years. This needs to be investigated so that public trust is restored," he added.

Of the 82 candidates in phase I, 14 have declared assets over Rs 30 crore, which has been classified as 'Very High'. Of this five are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seven from the INC (Congress) and two from the Janata Dal Secular (JDS).

Prominent candidates who feature in this category are G Prasad Reddy total assets Rs 80.81 crore from BTM Layout, M Srinivas Rs 52.94 crore, Rajarajeswari Nagar from BJP. D Kupendra Reddy, Rs 180.69 crore, Bommanahalli, M Krishnappa Rs 132.73 crore, Vijayanagar from Congress. H D Revanna, Rs 103.78 crore Holenarasipur, H D Kumaraswamy, Rs 52.58 crore, Ramanagarm from JDS.

Then there are candidates who have 'High Assets' (between Rs 5 crore and Rs 30 crore). The BJP has 14, BSP nine, Congress 21, JDS 19. And finally the there are 33 candidates who have declared very low assets of Rs 1 lakh or less. The BJP has one, BSP 11, Congress two, JD(S) two, JD(U) five, SP 12.

Comparing financial record of candidates with 2004 data, Sastry, said, "As many as 82 candidates reported a very steep increase in total assets between the 2004 assembly elections and this years election (2008). The average increase in assets was a huge 677 per cent."

Several candidates from the major parties have not declared their income tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) even though the affidavits they submit to the Returning Officers requires them to do so.

The BJP has 40 such candidates. The BSP has 62, Congress 42, JD(S) 44, and JD(U) 16, KVCP 1, SP 35. Several of them have declared assets well in excess of Rs 5 crore. Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and his brother H D Revanna have not furnished their PAN numbers in the affidavits.

As for the criminal records of candidates, Sastry said, "As can be seen, major political parties have shown a decline in the percentage of candidates with criminal records. The criminal charges of many candidates include murder, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation and death threats, grievous injury with deadly weapons, forgery and cheating."

There are 49 candidates with criminal records contesting the phase 1 elections. Among the major parties, the BJP has 12 candidates having a criminal record, BSP has 9, the Congress 10, JD(S) 13, JD(U) 1, KCVP 1 and SP 1.