In the current state assembly elections in Delhi, 28 per cent of the candidates fielded by each of the two major parties, the BJP and the Congress, have criminal cases pending against them, followed by the BSP with 25 per cent. Candidates from these three major parties face a total of 37 cases for crimes like murder and attempt to murder, kidnapping, cheating and forgery. This is after the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate announced in the “Vijay Sankalp” rally on October 18 that his party would henceforth not field any candidate with a criminal background even if he was likely to win (IE, October 19, 2008). Similar statements were made by leaders of other parties. Considering the 45 sitting MLAs of Delhi who are re-contesting the elections, the average increase in assets from 2003 to 2008, is 211 per cent or almost Rs. 1.8 crores per MLA. It is not known whether this increase is in keeping with their “known sources of earning” or not.

The situation in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections is similar. BJP, BSP, and Congress lead the field in terms of candidates with criminal cases pending against them. While 14 per cent each of the BJP and Congress candidates have criminal cases pending against them, the BSP leads the way with 16 per cent. The average increase in assets of the re-contesting Chhattisgarh MLAs is close to Rs.65 lakhs per MLA. In percentage terms it is 213 per cent, and very similar to Delhi.

The Supreme Court judgments of May 2, 2002 (Case No. SCC 399) and March 13, 2003 make it mandatory for candidates contesting elections to Parliament and state assemblies to disclose pending criminal cases, past convictions, and financial and educational backgrounds. This information can now be obtained from returning officers and from the election commission websites. The judgment was in response to a PIL filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (www.adrindia.org) and was vigourously contested by the political parties. Since then citizen election watches have emerged all over the country. Over 25,000 candidate records have been scrutinised and analysed. Information about how many candidates have declared assets of more than Rs. 1 crore but have not declared their permanent account numbers (PANs); how many candidates claim to have zero cash but their assets run into several lakhs and crores, and how many claim they have zero cash, zero deposits, and zero assets; and how many have declared assets of more than Rs.60-70 lakhs and say that they do not possess any motor vehicle, has now become available to citizens/voters.

... contd.