by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR India)
The National Parties, BJP, INC and Karnataka’s Regional Party, JD(S) announced the list of candidates for Karnataka Assembly Elections, 2018 recently.
A total of 154 candidates have been announced by BJP in their two lists released so far. First list for Karnataka was released on 8th April and second list on 16th April, 2018. Out of these, 111 candidates had contested (including the 44 re-contesting MLAs) assembly elections in 2013.
A first list of 218 candidates was announced by INC for Karnataka. Out of these, 148 candidates had contested (including the 112 re-contesting MLAs) assembly elections in 2013.
A first list of 126 candidates was announced by JD(S) for Karnataka. Out of these, 58 candidates had contested (including the 27 re-contesting MLAs) assembly elections in 2013. Association for Democratic Reforms and Karnataka Election Watch analyzed the affidavits of these candidates submitted by them during elections to Karnataka State Assembly and any subsequent bye-elections later. The latest information regarding assets as well as criminal charges if any, would be available once the candidates file their affidavits for 2018 Karnataka Assembly Elections.
Please visit https://adrindia.org/content/preliminary-analysis-candidates-announced-bjp-inc-and-jds-karnataka-2018-assembly-elections for full report.
For complete information related to upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections, 2018, please visit: https://adrindia.org/content/assembly-election-karnataka-2018
Candidates Announced by INC, BJP and JD(S)
| Party | No. of Candidates Announced in the First List | No. of Candidates Announced in the Second List | Total Candidates Announced |
| BJP | 72 | 82 | 154 |
| INC | 218 | – | 218 |
| JD(S) | 126 | – | 126 |
Analysis of candidates announced by BJP, INC and JD(S) as on 18th April 2018
| Party | No. of Candidates Announced (Total) | No. of re-contesting candidates | No of re-contesting Candidates with Criminal Cases | No. of re-contesting Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases | % of re-contesting Candidates with Criminal Cases | % of re-contesting Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases | No of re-contesting Crorepati Candidates | % of re-contesting Crorepati Candidates | Average Assets of re-contesting candidates (in Rs.) |
| BJP | 154 | 111 | 30 | 19 | 27% | 17% | 97 | 87% | 8,92,67,255 8 Crore+ |
| INC | 218 | 148 | 48 | 23 | 32% | 16% | 134 | 91% | 28,23,51,893
28 Crore+ |
| JD(S) | 126 | 58 | 17 | 9 | 29% | 16% | 46 | 79% | 14,91,14,815
14 Crore+ |
Recommendations
The current analysis of the candidates fielded by the major party shows that political parties continue to give tickets to candidates with serious criminal cases. The Association for Democratic Reforms recommends that political parties should refrain from giving tickets to candidates with a serious criminal background. The political parties should take a stand against misuse of money power, bribing of voters and distribution of freebies. Further, the political parties should move towards transparency and disclose the criteria for selection of candidates during elections.
