'Votes-for-notes no longer only means cash and goodies for fence-sitting voters,' points out Sunil Sethi.
Phases 1 to 4 of the Lok Sabha elections will witness 278 candidates with charges. The data of 1,566 candidates which have been analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms show that out of the 278 candidates with charges, 155 of them have serious charges against them.
Govt effort to curb black money in polls futile if identity of donors not known, says SC.
'Secrecy allowed in the electoral bonds scheme legalises anonymity'
1581 MPs with criminal background will elect next President of India.
The Delhi high court on Friday reserve its order on a Public Interest Litigation alleging that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party received funding from subsidiaries of United Kingdom-based Vedanta Resources in violation of various Indian laws.
The Association for Democratic Reforms came out with the figures in a report after analysing affidavits of the candidates of 12 Lok Sabha seats that are going to polls. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
With the latest expansion of the Union Council of Ministers, the total number of crorepatis there has risen to 72, while the number of those with declared criminal cases is up at 24, a study said.
Eight of the newly inducted ministers in the Union cabinet have criminal cases against them, a report released by election watchdog Non-Governmental Organisation's on Monday said.
As many as 51 MPs and MLAs have declared cases of crime against women.
When it comes to crorepati leaders winning the elections, Delhi seems to have taken the cake among the four states with at least 52 such members of Legislative Party in the 70-member strong assembly.
Jagdish Chhokar, founder-member of the Association for Democratic Reforms says there should be a law to regulate the functioning of political parties.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the parties to furnish 'forthwith' the details of electoral bonds received by a political party till date.
Among MLAs with criminal cases, 33 have declared serious cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, robbery etc.
The data provided by the SBI shows that highest purchase of electoral bonds for the year 2019 was reported from Mumbai where the bonds worth Rs 495.6 crore were sold.
While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has given tickets to 76 'crorepati' candidates, the opposition Congress has fielded 60 such nominees. They are followed by seven from the Nationalist Congress Party, six from the Aam Aadmi Party and two from the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Fethullah Gulen's movement has been feared by some for its ability to mobilize considerable resources and for its influence among decision-makers
Out of the 167 candidates, 54 are crorepatis. Manipur Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms ADR said.
Cases range from murder to attempted murder and even rape. Some candidates even face cases of communal disharmony. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
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'The most fundamental flaw with the electoral bond scheme is that it is designed to make anonymous donations.' 'It makes it easy for black money holders as well as corrupt corporates to donate money to the ruling party and ask for a quid pro quo without anybody getting any idea about it.'
Union Minister and State President of the Congress party Sachin Pilot is the top performing Member of Parliament among the 25 MPs of Rajasthan.
He dropped those perceived to be non-performers or whose integrity came into question, and also where it was felt they needed to learn a lesson or two in humility.
Lead players in the poll-bound state are understood to be re-working their strategies on how to manage the campaign with less money with Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes becoming illegal tender in one stroke.
Polling in Phase II of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections consists of 67 constituencies spread across 11 districts.
As per the law, political parties are to declare a list of their political donors. However, as per the latest report, political parties continue to enjoy donations without providing their names or addresses, reports Vicky Nanjappa
Of Rs 1,034.27 crore, the ruling party spent Rs 606.64 crore, while the Congress spent Rs 149.65 crore of its Rs 225.36 crore.
Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday unveiled his cabinet that included members from a cross-section of parties and announced fresh parliamentary polls in 100 days, two years ahead of schedule.
Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president-elect, will be sworn-in on Friday evening following his stunning victory in the tightest-ever presidential race that ended the 10-year-rule of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
'Rather than encouraging transparency, the opacity of electoral bonds adds to the murkiness,' argues Amit Tandon.
Disclosing details of his assets, he said the reports about the rise in his wealth had been done without checking facts.
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Disclosing details of his assets, he said the reports about the rise in his wealth had been done without checking facts.
A prominent Indian businessman facing deportation from Thailand has said that he will continue to participate in anti-government protests, even as the Thai authorities were considering his case.
Thai protesters threatened to take Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra into "custody" and marched on several state buildings on the second day of a shutdown of Bangkok to force her to resign even as the embattled Premier rejected their demands to quit.
Nearly 57 per cent of total income of five national parties during financial year 2013-14 was from sale of coupons (smaller donations), a leading election watchdog NGO has said.
Around 62 per cent newly-elected legislators have criminal cases against them in Kerala, while 32 per cent in West Bengal face serious charges including murder and crime against women, a report said on Friday.
Of the 294 candidates declared with serious criminal cases, 76 were from the TMC, 52 from the BJP, 47 from the CPI-M and 31 from the Congress.
The National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms have analysed the affidavits of 165 MPs who were elected again in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
73 constituencies will vote on Saturday.
Despite the Congress having nearly four times as many members in the Rajya Sabha as the TMC (48 to 13), Derek O'Brien has been informally leading the coordination of Opposition parties, rallying other parties to demand a discussion on electoral reforms and to protest the government's disinvestment plans, report Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan.
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