Candidates with muscle and money power have emerged victorious more than the others in Punjab elections since 2004, says an exhaustive report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Punjab Election Watch in Chandigarh.

Key Points:

• Against the average assets of Rs 3.5 crore declared by the candidates since 2004, the average assets of the elected MPs and MLAs were at Rs 11.42 crore, thus showing the influence of money.
• The organisations have analysed election affidavits of 3,547 candidates and 413 MLAS/MPs filed during Vidhan Sabha and parliamentary elections in Punjab between 2004 and 2019 with the Election Commission of India.

About Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)

• The ADR is a non-partisan, non-governmental organization which works in the area of electoral and political reforms.

• ADR aims at bringing transparency and accountability in Indian politics and reducing the influence of money and muscle power in elections.

• National Election Watch (NEW) is a conglomeration of over 1200 organizations across the country.

• ADR has become the single data point for information/analysis of background details (criminal, financial and others) of politicians and of financial information of political parties.

• ADR has chosen to concentrate its efforts in the following areas pertaining to the political system of the country:

• Corruption and Criminalization in the Political Process

• Empowerment of the electorate through greater dissemination of information relating to the candidates and the parties, for a better and informed choice

• Need for greater accountability of Indian Political Parties

• Need for inner-party democracy and transparency in party-functioning