The number of ‘crorepati candidates’ in the fray for the Lok Sabha election from Kerala has been on the rise since 2009. That year, only nine candidates had total assets worth over ₹1 crore each. It shot up to 39 in the election held in 2014. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the total number of crorepati candidates increased to 45, according to an analysis of the self-sworn affidavits of the candidates carried out by the poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The candidates of the Congress party had topped the list of crorepati candidates in 2009. Of the total nine on the list, four were Congress candidates. There were two Independent candidates and one member each representing the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Nationalist Congress Party; and Bahujan Samaj Party in the crorepati club. Shashi Tharoor of the Congress had the highest total assets of about ₹21.2 crore in among the candidates from the State in 2009.
39 nominees in 2014
In the Lok Sabha elections held in 2014, 39 candidates in the State had figured in the crorepati club. Independents topped the list (11) followed by the Congress (7) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (4). Mr. Tharoor, who won from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, was the richest among the candidates in the State. He had assets worth ₹23 crore. Anitha Prathap, writer and senior journalist, who contested from Ernakulam as the Aam Aadmi Party candidate, held the second position in the crorepati club in 2014, with total assets worth about ₹20 crore.
The crorepati club became crowded in the 2019 Lok Sabha election as the number of candidates in it went up to 45. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had the highest number of richest candidates (10) followed by the Congress (9) and the CPI(M) (7). There were seven Independent candidates with total assets worth over 1 crore each. Mr. Tharoor retained the top position on the list, with total assets of about ₹35 crore. Among the BJP candidates, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi had the highest total assets (₹10.1 crore).
Popular actor Innocent, who had contested the election in 2019 as the candidate of the Left Democratic Front, had total assets amounting to ₹6.7 crore. He was followed by P. Rajeeve of the CPI(M), who contested the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency, with total assets worth about ₹4.8 crore. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Wayanad, had total assets valued around ₹15.8 crore. Among the Independent candidates, O.S. Nissar Methar who contested from Malappuram, had the highest total assets worth about ₹30.9 crore in 2019.
Criminal cases
Nearly 55 candidates who contested the Lok Sabha election in 2019 had declared criminal cases against themselves in the affidavits. Independents and candidates of the Congress had 11 declared criminal cases each. Ten candidates of the BJP had declared criminal cases against themselves while the corresponding number of candidates of the CPI(M) was seven. Six candidates of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had criminal cases against themselves.
