Tag: Infographics

12May

As polling ends, a profile of the men and women who fought for your votes

On the final day of polling in the world’s biggest election, voters in 41 constituencies across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal will cast their votes, and, of course, post photos of inked fingers on social media. The 8,234 candidates who  submitted themselves to the electorate over the past month were obliged to declare their education, assets, and a range of other details. Based on that information, here is a quick profile of the candidates who fought for the 16th Lok Sabha seats.

Female candidates made up just 8% of the field. In the last Lok Sabha women occupied 11% of the seats. This means that in order to beat that figure, female candidates will need to be more electorally successful than their male counterparts this time around.

Most candidates were in their 40s, the average age being 47.

There were 52 candidates aged 25. The constitution states that anyone under the age of 25 may not sit in the Lok Sabha.

At 93 Ram Sundar Das is the oldest candidate — the only one in the 90s, in fact. He is running in Hajipur, Bihar for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Rishang Keishing, who is 94, currently holds the record for India’s and the world’s oldest MP. However, he is not seeking reelection this time. If Sundar Das is elected and serves a full term he will become the world’s oldest MP.

Just under one-third of the candidates are graduates, and over 40% declared that they are educated to a high school level.

Five per cent of candidates have no formal education.

The average candidate has assets totalling Rs 49,309,000 (approximately £488,000).

The wealthiest candidate is technology entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani, who declared total assets of Rs 77,102,957,219 (approximately £763,473,000), including Rs 1,166,057,978 (£11,546,000) currently deposited in the bank.

The majority of the candidate, 82%, have never been involved in any criminal cases.

Two candidates from the Aam Aadmi Party in Tamil Nadu came top of the list in terms of involvement in criminal cases.

Udayakumar S P declared in his sworn affidavit that he has been involved in 382 cases, which include 19 charges of attempted murder and 16 charges “related to waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India”.

M Pushparayan, came a close second, declaring he has been involved in 380 criminal case.

Data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, based on sworn affidavits from candidates.

23Apr

Crime, wealth, education and gender: our guide to Phase 6

On April 24, more than 2,000 candidates will fight for 117 seats on what is set to be the second busiest day of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Seats are up for grabs across Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Here’s an interactive map (click on states for constituency details):

Here is how the candidates measure up, state by state, in terms of gender, education, criminality and wealth.



Data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, based on sworn affidavits from candidates.

This story also appeared in Rediff.com, our media partner

16Apr

Everything you must know about your candidate before you vote tomorrow

On April 17, 122 constituencies will be contested on what is set to be the biggest day of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Approximately 1,800 candidates will fight for seats from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Over 60% of the seats up are currently held by either Congress or the BJP, which makes Phase 5 crucial in determining the fate of the two main parties.

Use our interactive constituency map to see how your candidate measures up in terms of age, gender, education, wealth, and criminal activity. See Phase 5 constituencies in full screen.

The data used for this interactive map is from National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms, based on the sworn affidavits of the candidates.

4Apr

Sharp rise in unrecognised parties, independent candidates

The 2014 Parliamentary elections will see the highest number of unrecognised parties in the fray in India’s electoral history.

The number of unrecognised parties has shown a five-fold increase from the 2009 figure, reaching  a total of 1,593, according to data from the Election Commission of India.

Unrecognised parties, as the label indicates, are the ones that are registered but not recognised by the EC. To be recognised, a party needs to complete five years of registration. Alternately, it needs to win 4% of votes polled in a state or Parliamentary elections, whereupon it would be recognised as a state party.

The rise from 322 in 2009 to 1,593 is the largest growth spurt seen in registered parties since 1951.

In 1984, the number of unrecognised parties was just nine.

Data from the EC also shows a steady rise in independent candidates from the 1998 figures. In 1998, 1,915 independents had contested the elections. The number had risen to 3,831 by 2009, and this year, it is expected to be higher.

The number of independent candidates was at its highest in the 1996 elections — a whopping 10,636.

By means of comparison, the number of independent candidates during the 2010 General Election in the UK totalled 308, which equates to just 8% of the number of independents contesting the 2009 Parliamentary elections in India.

In contrast, the number of national parties in India has barely fluctuated, remaining just under double digits, whilst the number of state parties has been slowly rising. An increase of 20 this year brings the total number of state parties to 54.

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