And we’re back with a yet another report on candidates contesting Lok Sabha polls. Now applying for a job, as we know, requires one to hold certain qualifications. But, have you ever thought what’s the qualification to be a politician? Before you ponder upon what we just asked you, take a look at the candidates that are contesting the largest phase of of Lok Sabha polls 2019- phase III. Team Neta has analysed self-sworn affidavits of 367 candidates belonging to electorally significant parties in the fray for phase III. Here’s what the candidate list looks like…
33% women in parliament- a hollow slogan?
It’s been three phases and we’re yet to see women candidates cross the 10% mark. A mere 8.71% of candidates contesting phase III are women. While BJP’s list features 13.4% of women candidates, women in Congress’ list stand at 8.79%. As we can see, none of these figures appear anywhere close to the 33% mark mentioned in their manifestos.
Degrees galore!
Candidates holding a graduate degree or above account for almost 67% of the total candidates in the fray for phase III. 28.5% of candidates have studied up to high school or lower. Out of the 91 candidates analysed, Congress has fielded 44 graduates, while BJP has fielded 42 out of 97.
Criminals make up for a quarter, as usual
Looks like a certain portion of candidature is reserved for them! The trend from the previous two phases continues into the third as candidates with self-declared criminal records against themselves continue to account for almost a quarter. They make up almost 24% of the total number of candidates analysed. Congress, BJP, and CPM contribute maximum candidates with self-declared criminal records.
| Total number of candidates with self-declared criminal cases against themselves | 88 |
|---|---|
| INC | 28 |
| BJP | 23 |
| CPM | 10 |
Who’s got the money?
Well, a majority of them have, and lots of it! Crorepatis and lakhpatis account for 43.86% and 43% of the candidates analysed respectively. Candidates with declared assets less than 1 lac form a minority with 5.17%.
| Party/Candidates analysed | Lakhpatis out of total candidates fielded in Phase III |
|---|---|
| BSP/66 | 38 |
| INC/91 | 30 |
| BJP/97 | 29 |
| CPM/17 | 10 |
| Total/Party | Crorepatis out of total candidates fielded in Phase III |
|---|---|
| Crorepatis in phase III/367 | 161 |
| BJP/97 | 62 |
| INC/91 | 57 |
More than 55% of candidates fielded by CPM and BSP are lakhpatis. When it comes to crorepaties, BJP and Congress have contributed maximum number of candidates with crorepatis making up over 60% of their lists.
Qualifications are determined through report cards. Did you know that Neta app has created a report card for every leader in your constituency? Make sure to check their rating before you step out for voting. And yes, we would love to read from you- comments below!