There has been an average increase of 43 per cent over the last five years in the assets of 324 re-contesting Lok Sabha members, according to an analysis by a poll rights body.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which analysed self-sworn affidavits of 8,337 (of the total 8,360) candidates contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the average assets of these 324 MPs in 2019 was around Rs 21.55 crore.
The average asset value of these re-contesting MPs has increased “significantly” to Rs 30.88 crore, marking an increase of Rs 9.33 crore over the past five years, an average percentage growth of 43 per cent, it said.
The ADR could not analyse the affidavits of 23 candidates as these were badly scanned and thus illegible.
The ADR said among the major parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs saw a 39.18 per cent increase in the average assets of its re-contesting 183 MPs (from Rs 18.40 crore to Rs 25.61 crore).
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‘Crorepati’ candidates
The percentage of ‘crorepati’ candidates, those who have assets of Rs 1 crore or more, as a share of total candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, has doubled since 2009, the ADR’s analysis stated.
As many as 31 per cent of the 8,337 candidates in the fray in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have assets of more than Rs 1 crore, said the ADR report released on Wednesday.
The percentage of ‘crorepati’ candidates has almost doubled from 16 per cent in 2009, it said. As many as 27 per cent of candidates were crorepatis in the 2014 elections and it was 29 per cent five years later, the ADR said.
The ADR analysed the election affidavits of 8,337 candidates and found 2,572 of them had assets worth over Rs 1 crore. Out of these, 12 per cent (1,018) had assets worth over Rs 5 crore. Another 9 per cent (757) had assets worth Rs 2-5 crore.
The BJP had the highest share of crorepati candidates at 92 per cent, followed by the Congress (89 per cent). In the BJP, the average assets per candidate are Rs 41.26 crore followed by Rs 24.72 crore for the Congress.
The average assets per candidate in 2024 stood at Rs 6.23 crore, compared to Rs 4.14 crore in the 2019 elections. In 2014 and 2009, the average was Rs 4.92 crore and Rs 1.11 crore, respectively.
Candidates named in ‘serious’ criminal cases
The ADR said that out of all the candidates, 1,643 or 20 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves. This is higher than 19 per cent in 2019, 17 per cent in 2014 and 15 per cent in 2009.
Moreover, 14 per cent (1,191) of candidates in 2024 have declared “serious” criminal cases against them. These cases include rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women, among others.
In 2019 and 2014, it was 13 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. In 2009, the percentage of candidates with serious criminal cases was 8 per cent. Ninety-eight candidates this year have declared cases where they have been convicted.
The ADR’s analysis of self-sworn affidavits of the 8,337 candidates (out of the total 8,360) contesting the Lok Sabha polls revealed an increase in the number of candidates with criminal cases and serious criminal cases. The ADR defines ‘serious’ criminal cases as ones where the minimum punishment is five years or which are non-bailable. It found that the number of candidates with ‘serious’ criminal cases increased from eight per cent of the total contestants in the fray in 2009 to 14 per cent in 2024.
104 per cent increase in political parties contesting LS polls
The report said that there has been an increase of 104 per cent in the number of political parties contesting the Lok Sabha polls from 2009 to 2024. According to the analysis, 751 political parties are participating in 2024 as compared to 677 that participated in 2019, 464 in 2014, and 368 in 2009.
Out of the total 8,360 contesting candidates in 2024, 1,333 are from national parties, 532 from state parties, 2,580 from registered unrecognised parties and 3,915 independent candidates.
Marginal increase in number of women candidates
The analysis found that the number of women candidates has increased marginally over the years, from 7 per cent of the total candidates in 2009 to 9.6 per cent in 2024.
This year, 797 women are in the fray, constituting 9.6 per cent of the total. The share of women candidates was 9 per cent in 2019, 8 per cent in 2014, and 7 per cent in 2009. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, there were 556 female candidates, making up 7 per cent of the total 7,810 candidates. This number increased to 640 (8 per cent of 8,205) in 2014 and further to 716 (9 per cent of 7,928) in 2019.
This year, the BJP leads among the national parties with 69 female Lok Sabha nominees out of 440, making up 16 per cent of its total candidates. The Congress follows with 41 women out of 327 candidates, constituting 13 per cent.
Some parties with notable female representation in this year’s parliamentary polls include the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), each with 33 per cent and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) with 29 per cent. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has 20 per cent female representation, and the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) 25 per cent.
With inputs from agencies
