Editor’s note:

Analysing 590 affidavits from three major parties is a gigantic task. We could analyse only 240 of them. Here are the highlights of our partial analysis. If you have analysed affidavits and have noted anything of importance, do mail us at edit (at) citizenmaters (dot) in.

Majority of the candidates contesting this BBMP election from three major political parties – BJP, Congress and the JD(S) have one thing in common. A large number of them are less educated, but are stinking rich.

When Citizen Matters looked into the affidavits of candidates from BJP, Congress and JD(S), from 84 wards in Bengaluru South and Bengaluru Central parliamentary constituencies, it was revealed that a large portion of the candidates have an SSLC or less. There are only a handful of candidates who are highly educated or have pursued professional courses. Interestingly, the less educated are wealthier whereas the more educated are poorer.

Here are the tables showing the tabulation of education qualification and declared assets of candidates from 84 wards.

* This asset calculation excludes the vehicles owned by the candidates. It also excludes some of the affidavits which were not found in the BBMP website.

Education v/s property

Take for example, BJP candidate K Narayan Raju, who is contesting from Bilekahalli ward. He has passed SSLC. His movable/ immovable property is worth Rs 151 crore. Apart from owning 14 sites and flats, he also has three Mercedes Benz cars. So is Doddanna, a Congress candidate from Athiguppe ward. A PUC pass out, Doddanna is the owner of 22 sites and houses.

Women candidates are not lagging behind. With highest number of women contesting in this BBMP election due to 50 per cent reservation, a large number of them have strong financial background. Bhavya G Gowda, from JD(S) who is contesting from Girinagar ward has assets not less than Rs 24 crore which includes 15 flats and sites. Bharathi Nagar candidate Renuka, a 9th Std dropout, owns assets worth Rs 34 crore, apart from the 6 cars that she has! Former Mayor N Shantha Kumari has property worth Rs 16 crore, which includes 14 houses and sites.  

A large part of the candidates have invested on gold and sites/houses than on bank and other savings. Majority of the candidates own at least one four wheeler, and in many cases it exceeds.

A few well-educated candidates are not crorepatis like their uneducated counterparts. For example, Avinash B, an engineering graduate who is contesting from Rajaji Nagar has declared assets of Rs 5.4 lakh. So is Nagarathna Yadav, a candidate from Shanthinagar ward. She has done her M.Sc in London and her asset is Rs 4 lakh. Another candidate, Leelavathi S, a BA LLB who contests from J P Nagar has assets worth Rs 3.5 lakh.

This apart, there is also a small fraction of candidates whose declared asset is considerably less. Kusuma who is contesting from Yediyur ward has no property at all. Ejipura ward candidate T Ramachandra has assets worth Rs 91,000 only. Ruksar Banu from Banashankari Temple ward has asset of Rs 94,000. Bhattamma who will contest from Vijaya Nagara ward has assets worth Rs 1.7 lakh.

Prominence to middle age group

This election, the three political parties have given prominence to candidates who fall in middle-age group. In Bengaluru South and Central parliamentary constituencies, of the 240 candidates we analysed from BJP, Congress and JD(S), 90 belong to 41-50 age group. Seventy seven candidates fall in 31-40 age group. The three political parties have not issued tickets to young and elderly people.

Here is the table showing age group of candidates contesting from two parliamentary constituencies.

Candidates with criminal background

Study of affidavits from 84 wards showed that not many candidates contesting the election have criminal background. This may be because majority of the candidates contesting the election are women. Of the 240 candidates, 4 candidates from BJP, 6 candidates from Congress and 3 from JD(S) have criminal background. Except for 5 who are undergoing trial, rest of them have been acquitted.

No third gender candidate

None of the three political parties have fielded a candidate from third gender. The number of third gender too is less: the electoral roll shows only 1,184 voters from entire city.

As far as women candidates are concerned, apart from fielding women candidates in women reservation wards (which is 50 per cent of total seats), the parties have also fielded a few additional candidates in other wards. JD(S) has fielded four women in non-women reservation wards, while the BJP has fielded three women. The Congress has filded two women in non-women reservation wards. Due to this, the number of women candidates contesting this election from three major parties is slightly higher than the number of male candidates.

Women candidates contesting in non-women reservation wards are as follows:

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