Skip to main content

NGO on Gujarat polls: Congress has more candidates with criminal cases than BJP, 2002 riot cases "not verifiable"

By A Representative
The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), a Delhi-based advocacy group, has said, its analysis suggests that BJP’s 22 (25%) out of 89 candidates and 31 (36%) out of 86 Congress candidates, who will be going to polls in the first phase of Gujarat state assembly elections on December 9, have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits  before the Election Commission (EC).
It further says, 10 (11%) out of 89 candidates of BJP and 20 (23%) out of 86 candidates from Congress have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, adding, there are 21 (24%) out of 89 constituencies in the first phase of Gujarat assembly elections having three or more candidates with declared criminal cases. ADR terms them “red alert constituencies.”
Releasing its report, “Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017 Phase 1 Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other Details of Candidates”, former Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad professor Jagdeep S Chhokar, who heads ADR, however, clarified to media, ADR does not propose to draw the attention to the EC about the sensitivity of these constituencies.
Chhokar said, “Our job is only to analyze facts as filed in affidavits by candidates before the EC, not beyond. It is left for others to decide on whether to take up them up with EC.” Asked whether the ADR has done any investigation on its own, Chhokar said, “We don’t do it.” The report, notably, is also mum about communal sensitivity of individual constituencies.
To a question by Counterview, on whether, when it comes to criminal cases, ADR has looked into which of the candidates had cases pertaining to the 2002 Gujarat communal riots, the top academic replied, “The affidavits mention only IPC cases, and not involvement in communal riots or any other incident, which, say, may have taken place in 1947.”
A disclaimer at the end of the report says, “All information in this report has been taken from the website of EC (http://affidavitarchive.nic.in/). ADR does not add or subtract any information, unless the EC changes the data.” Considering information (non-EC sources) elsewhere available as “unverified”, ADR underlines, “In particular, no unverified information from any other source is used.”
On the monetary status of the candidates, ADR says, among the major parties 76 (85%) out of 89 candidates from BJP, and 60 (70%) out of 86 candidates from Congress have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore. It adds, the average assets per candidate for 89 BJP candidates is Rs 10.7 crore”, and for 86 Congress candidates, it is Rs 8.46 crore.
The richest candidate, the report says, is Congress’ Intranil Rajguru, who is fighting against Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani from Rajkot West, and has assets are to the tune of Rs 143 crore. He is followed by Saurabh Patel of the BJP, fighting from Botad, with total assets worth Rs 123 crore, and Dhanjibhai Patel (Makson), BJP, who is fighting from Wadhwan, having assets worth Rs 113 crore. “Interestingly, the candidates with high assets also have declared high liabilities”, Chhokar said.
In all, ADR, in association with Gujarat Election Watch, has analyzed self-sworn affidavits of 923 out of 977 candidates, who are contesting in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections to be held on December 9, 2017. “There are 54 candidates who have not been analyzed as the affidavits of these candidates were either badly scanned or the complete affidavits were not available on the Election Commission website”, the report said.

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative  Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.