As many as 13 (93%) are crorepatis with their average assets pegged at Rs 3.93 crores, the report said.
The Congress raised Rs 918.03 crore, of which 383.26 crore came through the debt instrument, which can be purchased from select branches of State Bank of India and donated to any political party.
As many as 1,500, or 19 per cent, of all candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, face criminal cases, according to an analysis by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The Association for Democratic Reforms, in its report, analysed the candidates contesting the fourth phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. Vicky Nanjappa outlines the interesting findings
With the Yogi Adityanath government taking credit for cracking down on criminals and making it an election issue, political parties are now having a rethink on aligning with those who have a criminal background but also enjoy influence in their areas.
While the US omitted China and Russia from the list of invitees, Beijing was furious over the invitation to the self-governing island Taiwan, which China said is a blatant violation of the 'One China' policy that considers Taipei as the integral part of the Chinese mainland.
Total of 59 seats spread across 6 states and one Union Territory will go to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.
An analysis of the declarations made by these MLAs reveals that 37 have declared serious charges including those related to rape, attempt to murder and crime against women.
The Association for Democratic Reforms has complained against six major political parties for not appointing Public Information Officers.
More than two crore voters in Bihar will decide the fate of 1,066 candidates on Wednesday across 71 assembly segments in the first phase of elections.
The richest candidate in the first phase is from Chevella. The poorest candidate is also contesting from the same constituency in Telengana!
59 constituencies across 7 states and one Union Territory will go to polls in the seventh phase on May 19.
943 candidates are contesting 71 seats spread across 9 states.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday named Robert Destro, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, as the special coordinator for Tibetan issues. Destro will focus on advancing dialogue between the Communist-run government in Beijing and the Dalai Lama, protecting the distinct religious cultural and linguistic identity of Tibetans, improving respect for their human rights and much, much more, Pompeo said.
'All political parties are reaching out to the family of the Hathras victim after the tragic incident. This engagement should not be limited to political interactions only. The political parties must also deliberate seriously that MLAs, MPs and ministers with criminal background should not reach the temple of democracy'
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that the scheme is a means for channelising unaccounted black money in favour of the ruing party.
The Supreme Court Wednesday flagged the issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds by political parties for illegal purposes like terrorism and asked the Centre whether there was any 'control' over how these funds were put to use.
'Although Hong Kong weathered many a storm and displayed a remarkable resilience to bounce back, the developments in the territory have raised question marks with regard to its future stability and prosperity.' A revealing excerpt from Rup Narayan Das's Hong Kong Conundrum: Pangs of Transition.
Sixteen per cent of the candidates contesting in the first phase of Assam assembly elections have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Increasingly restive protests for over two months have plunged Hong Kong into its most serious political crisis in decades.
51 constituencies across 7 states go to the polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election.
The third phase will see the maximum number of seats going to the polls in this election spread across 12 states and 2 Union territories.
23 of the DMK's 24 candidates are crorepatis!
The measures include an information search prompt with the Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) and State Election Commissions to provide reliable information around the elections, a custom emoji to encourage participation, a series of pre-bunks and debunks to tackle election-related misinformation, and a youth discussion series titled #DemocracyAdda aimed at voter literacy and civic participation among young Indians for the upcoming elections.
The Summit for Democracy seems to have done more harm than good, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Gujarat polls are drawing to an end with Tuesday being the final phase of campaigning before the state goes for polling in the second phase on December 14. Results for the 182-seat assembly will be announced on December 18. Ahead of the polling, here's everything you need to know about the candidates.
The report prepared by ADR also stated that 81 per cent are crorepatis.
A breakdown of candidates in the first five stages of the election by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch offers a fascinating insight into the declarations made by this year's Lok Sabha hopefuls.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Prahlad Singh Patel, as also former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa and poll strategist Prashant Kishor were among those whose phone numbers were listed as potential targets for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to the government agencies, an international media consortium reported on Monday.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered a landmark verdict with regard to convicted MPs and MLAs. The judgment has ruled that a convicted elected representative cannot continue in office and the conviction will lead to instant disqualification of the elected representative. The judgement is important considering the fact that India has 1,460 sitting MP's and MLA's with a criminal background.
Professor Sastry says in this interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that every political party appears to be taking a shortcut and hence there is so much criminlisation in politics.
About 42 per cent ministers in Karnataka self-declared criminal cases pending against them in their affidavits filed during the last held assembly elections in 2008.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's vote share in the just-concluded Jharkhand assembly polls has slumped to 18.72 per cent despite the party winning 30 of the total 81 seats in the state. The JMM had won 19 seats in 2014 polls with a vote share of 20.43 per cent. This time the party bagged 30 seats but its vote share came down to 18.72 per cent.
Some believe she should no longer be the face of the struggle to free Myanmar from the new military dictatorship, observes Prakash Bhandari.
Only three of the 188 candidates analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the Nagaland Election Watch have criminal cases pending against them. This is a refreshing change as elections in India often witness hordes of tainted politicians contesting for the coveted seats.
The petition filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms alleged that two political parties -- Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have violated the Representation of People's Act, 1951 and Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by taking donations from government companies and foreign sources, which is prohibited under both legislations.
It keeps getting harder every day for the government to drive its narrative that ample jobs are being created. They sound increasingly silly as they try to defend the indefensible, says Mahesh Vyas.
Crores received by the Congress between 2005 and 2009 are unaccounted for, the BJP follows suit. Vicky Nanjappa reports
On a day of high political drama when the ruling coalition of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa suffered serious defections, the election commission on Friday set January 8, 2015 as the date for a snap presidential election.
According to the ADR analysis, during the period 2016-18 business houses donated a total of Rs 985.18 crore, constituting 93 per cent of the total contribution to political parties from known sources.
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