A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Jammu & Kashmir Election Watch states that almost half the candidates contesting in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections are crorepatis and have an average asset value of ₹3.65 crore. Of the 872 candidates analyzed, 410, or 47%, are wealthy.
First on the list is Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari from the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, contesting from Channapora in Srinagar with a total asset of ₹165 crore. Close to him is Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra from Central Shalteng in Srinagar, with ₹148 crore worth of assets. Third on this richest net worth list is BJP’s Devender Singh Rana, who is contesting from Jammu’s Nagrota with an asset of ₹126 crore.
Incidentally, on the other end of the spectrum, the president of the BJP’s local unit, Ravinder Raina, contesting from Nowshera in Rajouri, is one of the poorest candidates, declaring assets of a mere ₹1,000. He is the second-poorest candidate after Mohd Akram from Surankote in Poonch.
Also, the report explains that 152 candidates, or 17 percent, have declared criminal cases against themselves, a remarkable leap from 6 percent in the 2014 elections. Of those, 114 candidates, or 13 percent, have serious criminal charges against them, including 12 attempts to murder and 15 related to crimes against women, of which three are related to rape. Of the 90 constituencies, 24 (27%) are Red Alert constituencies, which means three or more candidates have declared criminal cases.
407 candidates have educational qualifications between 5th and 12th standard, whereas 436 candidates have declared graduation or above as their qualification. Further, only 5% of candidates are female, despite the fact that a considerable chunk of the voters’ list consists of female names.
While the first phase of polling is over, the second phase is due on September 25, and the final phase is on October 1. The vote counting is scheduled for October 8.
