The number of candidates who have declared their assets to be over a crore has increased across parties between the 2018 elections and 2023 elections in Karnataka, according to the report released by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Wednesday. While 96% of BJP candidates are crorepatis, the share is 97% in the Congress, and 82% in the JD(S).
“Out of the 2,586 candidates analysed, 1087 (42%) are crorepatis. In 2018 Assembly Elections, out of 2,560 candidates, 883 (35%) were crorepatis,” the report said. Further, the report said that 592 candidates (23%) have declared assets more than ₹5 crore while 272 (11%) have assets worth ₹2 crore to ₹5 crore.
The average assets of Congress candidates are higher than BJP and JD(S) candidates, the report found out. An average Congress candidate’s assets are worth ₹49.83 crore while the average assets of BJP and JD(S) candidates are ₹39.41 crore and ₹24.45 crore, respectively. “The role of money power in our elections is evident from the fact that all major political parties give ticket to wealthy candidates,” the report said.
With total assets worth over ₹1,633 crore, Yousuf Shariff, also known as KGF Babu, tops the list of candidates with highest declared assets. N. Nagaraju (MTB) of BJP stands next with ₹1,609 crore, while Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar has the third spot with ₹1,413 crore. Priya Krishna and Suresha B.S. of the Congress hold the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
Gurusiddappa Basalingappa Toggi, who is contesting as an independent candidate at Ramdurga constituency in Belagavi district, has declared the lowest assets (excluding zero asset candidates) of ₹500. There are 14 contesting candidates who have declared zero assets.
“Criminalisation and wealth are two big problems during elections. Between 2018 and 2023, the wealth of many politicians has doubled. We have an appeal to the voters to understand their candidates and their backgrounds before casting their votes,” said Trilochan Sastry, chairman, founder member and trustee, ADR, during a press conference on Wednesday.
The number of women candidates continues to remain low across parties. In Karnataka, JD(S) has fielded 13 women (6%) and 195 men whereas the BJP has fielded 12 women (5%) and 212 men. The Congress on the other hand has fielded only 11 women (5%) and 210 men. The report also said that 48% of candidates have declared their educational qualifications to be between standard 5 and 12, while 43% of candidates have a qualification of graduation or above.
