Press release: 18% of candidates declared criminal cases against themselves; 47% crorepatis; avg assets of 60 re-contesting MLAs is Rs 4.20 cr – Himachal Pradesh Elections, 2017
ADR India
Press Release
1st Nov, 2017
Dear friends,
Himachal Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 338 candidates who are contesting in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections, 2017 to be held on 9th November, 2017. Please find below a brief summary of the same.
The complete analysis in English and Hindi of criminal, financial & other background details of contesting candidates and increase of assets of 60 sitting MLAs between 2012 and 2017 may be accessed from: https://adrindia.org/content/assembly-elections-himachal-pradesh-gujarat-2017.
· Candidates with Criminal Cases: Out of the 338 candidates analysed, 61(18%) candidates have declared criminal cases against them.
· Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 31 (9%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases against them.
· Candidates with cases related to murder: 1 candidate namely Ram Kumar, an INC candidate constesting from Doon constituency has declared case related to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302)against himself.
· Candidates with cases related to attempt to murder: 2 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (Indian Penal Code Section-307) against them.
· Party wise Candidates with Criminal Cases: 6 (9%) out of 68 candidates from Indian National Congress (INC), 23(34%) out of 68 candidates from Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), 3(7%) out of 42 candidates from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 10(71%) out of 14 candidates from CPI(M) and 16(14%) out of 112 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against them in their affidavits.
· Party wise Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 3 (4%) out of 68 candidates from Indian National Congress (INC), 9(13%) out of 68 candidates from Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), 2(5%) out of 42 candidates from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) , 9(64%) out of 14 candidates from CPI(M) and 6(5%) out of 112 Independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping etc. against them in their affidavits.
Figure 1: Party Wise Candidates with Criminal Cases
· Red Alert Constituencies*: 2 constituencies namely Dalhousie and Mandi in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections have 3 or more candidates with declared criminal cases.
*Red Alert Constituencies are those which have 3 or more candidates with criminal cases contesting elections
Financial Background
Figure 2: Share of Wealth among Candidates
· Share of wealth among candidates : The share of wealth amongst the candidates contesting in assembly elections of Himachal Pradesh is as follows:
Value of assets | No. of candidates | Percentage of candidates |
Rs 5 cr and above | 55 | 16% |
Rs 2 crores to 5 crores | 55 | 16% |
Rs 50 lakhs to 2 crores | 105 | 31% |
Rs 10 lakhs to 50 lakhs | 70 | 21% |
less than Rs 10 lakhs | 53 | 16% |
Table 1: Share of wealth amongst contesting candidates
· Crorepati Candidates: Out of the 338 candidates analysed, 158 (47%) are crorepatis.
· Party wise Crorepati Candidates: 59 (87%) out of 68 candidates from INC, 47 (69%) out of 68 candidates from BJP, 6(14%) out of 42 candidates from BSP, 3 (21%) out of 14 candidates from CPI (M), 1(33%)out of 3 candidates from CPI, and 36 (32%) out of 112 Independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.
Figure 3: Party Wise Crorepati Candidates
· Average assets: The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017 is Rs 4.07 Crores.
· Party wise average assets: Among the major parties, the average assets per candidate for 68 INC candidates is Rs 8.56 crores, 68 BJP candidates have average assets of Rs 5.31 crores, 42 BSP candidates have average assets worth Rs 46.78 lakhs, 14 CPI (M) candidates have average assets worth Rs 2.31 crores, 3 CPI candidates have average assets worth Rs 74.64 lakhs, and 112 Independent candidates have average assets of Rs. 3.20 Crores.
· High asset candidates*: The top 3 candidates with highest assets contesting in the Himachal Pradesh 2017 Assembly Elections are given below:
S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
1 | SHIMLA | CHOPAL | BJP | 3,12,79,000 | 87,60,50,000 | 90,73,29,000 | Y | |
2 | SHIMLA | SHIMLA RURAL | INC | 4,50,30,056 | 79,82,50,958 | 84,32,81,014 | Y | |
3 | KANGRA | KANGRA | IND | 1,83,03,097 | 73,00,00,000 | 74,83,03,097 | Y |
Table 2: Top three candidates with highest declared assets
· Low asset candidates: The three candidates with lowest assets are as follows:
S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Movable Assets (Rs) | Immovable Assets (Rs) | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given |
1 | CHAMBA | CHURAH | SP | 1,000* | 0 | 1,000 | Y | |
2 | MANDI | DARANG | IND | 3,788* | 0 | 3,788 | N | |
3 | MANDI | SERAJ | BSP | 9,000 | 0 | 9,000 | N |
Table 3: Candidates with declared lowest assets
Candidates with high liabilities: 232 (69%) out of 338 candidates have declared liabilities. The top three candidates with highest liabilities are as given below:
S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party | Total Assets(Rs) | Liabilities (Rs) | Disputed liabilities (Rs) | PAN Given |
1 | SHIMLA | CHOPAL | BJP | 90,73,29,000 | # 26,73,34,000 | 73,00,000# | Y | |
2 | KANGRA | NAGROTA | INC | 44,96,44,670 | 17,12,50,473 | 0 | Y | |
3 | SOLAN | ARKI | INC | 30,52,15,611 | 6,25,24,000 | 0 | Y |
Table 4: Top three candidates with high liabilities # Disputed Liabilities
· Undeclared PAN: A total of 20(6%) out of the 338 candidates analysed have not declared their PAN details.
· Candidates with high income as declared in the ITR*: 5 candidates have declared self annual income of more than Rs 1 Crore. G. S. Bali, an INC candidate contesting from Nagrota constituency has declared the highest self income (annual). His annual income is Rs.3.42 crores and he has declared his salary from Himachal Pradesh government as his source of income. The details of these 5 candidates are as given below:
S.No. | Name | Party | Constituency | District | Total Asset (Rs) | The financial year for which the last income tax return has been filed by candidate | Total income shown by candidate in ITR (Self+Spouse+Dependent) (Rs) | Self income shown by candidate in ITR (Rs) | Self Source of Income | Spouse's Source of Income |
1 | INC | NAGROTA | KANGRA | 3,33,62,180 3 Crore+ | 2016-2017 | 44,96,44,670 44 Crore+ | 3,42,01,785 3 Crore+ | Salary from H.P. Govt. | Business and Rental Income | |
2 | IND | KANGRA | KANGRA | 1,01,97,160 1 Crore+ | 2015-2016 | 74,83,03,097 74 Crore+ | 1,67,57,914 1 Crore+ | Professional & Rental Income | Business Income | |
3 | BJP | CHOPAL | SHIMLA | 1,25,81,673 1 Crore+ | 2015-2016 | 90,73,29,000 90 Crore+ | 1,25,81,673 1 Crore+ | Business, Agriculture, Horticulture, Rent & Hotel | - | |
4 | BJP | DHARAMPUR | MANDI | 18,54,870 18 Lacs+ | 2017-2018 | 15,63,35,376 15 Crore+ | 1,14,37,084 1 Crore+ | - | - | |
5 | INC | ARKI | SOLAN | 31,12,380 31 Lacs+ | 2017-2018 | 30,52,15,611 30 Crore+ | 1,04,64,065 1 Crore+ | Salary, Bank Interest, Agriculture /Horticulture | Interest, Pension, Agriculture /Horticulture |
Table 5: Candidates with high income as declared in ITR
*Total income includes income of self, spouse and dependents
· Sources of Income: 71 (20%) out of 338 candidates have not declared their sources of income.
· Candidates who have not declared Income Tax Details*: 101 (30%) out of 338 candidates analysed have not declared income tax details.
* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
· Candidates with high assets who have not declared Income Tax Details*: Top 3 candidates with high assets have not declared income tax details. Their details are as given below:
S.No. | Name | District | Constituency | Party Name | Total Assets (Rs) | PAN Given | Self Income |
1 | SHIMLA | KASUMPTI | IND | 65,28,02,017 65 Crore+ | Y | ITR not filed | |
2 | SHIMLA | THEOG | CPI(M) | 18,15,08,484 18 Crore+ | Y | ITR not filed | |
3 | KULLU | BANJAR | INC | 4,34,24,987 4 Crore+ | Y | ITR not filed |
Table 6: Candidates with highest assets who have not declared ITR details
* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
Other Background Details
· Education details of candidates: 120 (36%) candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 214(63%) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above. There is 1 candidate who is illiterate, while 1 who has not given his educational details.
· Age details of candidates: 155(46%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years while 179(53%) candidates have declared their age to be between 51 and 80 years. 1 candidate has declared her age above 80 years, while 3 have not given their age details.
· Gender details of candidates: 19 (6%) women candidates are contesting in the Himachal Pradesh assembly election, 2017.
Analysis of Asset Comparison of Re contesting MLAs
Himachal Pradesh Election Watch (HPEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analyzed the affidavits of 60 MLAs recontesting in the 2017 Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections.
· Average Assets in 2012 Elections: The average assets of these 60 re-contesting MLAs from various parties including independent MLAs in 2012 was Rs 5.23 crores (Rs 5,23,85,402)
· Average Assets in 2017 Elections: The average assets of these 60 re-contesting MLAs in 2017 is Rs 9.44 crores (Rs. 9, 44, 80,695).
· Average Asset change from 2012 to 2017: The average assets of these 60 re- contesting MLAs, between the Himachal Pradesh Elections of 2012 and 2017 has increased by Rs. 4.20 crores (Rs. 4,20,95,293).
· Percentage change in assets from 2012 to 2017: The average percentage increase in assets for these 60 re-contesting MLAs is 80%.
Himachal Pradesh Election Watch
Dr. O.P. Bhuraita State Coordinator |
National Election Watch/Association for Democratic Reforms
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