New Delhi: Muscle and money power prevailed among the new members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) who emerged winners in the December 7 poll results.
Out of the 248 winning candidates analysed, 42 (17 per cent) winners had declared criminal cases against themselves. Whereas, in the year 2017, out of 266 councillors analysed, 26 (10 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Delhi Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 248 out of the 250 winning candidates in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections 2022. Two winning candidates were not analysed due to the unavailability of their clear and complete affidavits on the SEC Delhi website at the time of making this report.
The report said that 19 (8 per cent) winners have declared serious criminal cases against themselves this year and one winner had declared a case of attempt to murder (IPC Section-307). Similarly, three winners had declared cases of crime against women such as assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354) and related to the husband or relative of the husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A) etc.
So far as party wise winning candidates with criminal cases was concerned, 27 (21 per cent) out of 132 winning candidates from the AAP, 12 (12 per cent) out of 104 winning candidates from the BJP, two (67 per cent) out of three independent winning candidates and one (11 per cent) out of the nine winners from the Congress had declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Similarly, 12 (9 per cent) out of 132 winning candidates from the AAP, six (6 per cent)out of 104 winning candidates from the BJP and one (33 per cent) out of three independent winning candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
The ADR analysis of assets of the winning candidates disclosed that out of the 248 winning candidates analysed, 167 (67 per cent) were crorepatis (millionaires). Out of 266 councillors analysed during the MCD elections in 2017, 135 (51 per cent)councillors were crorepatis.
So far as the party-wise crorepati winning candidates was concerned, 82 (79 per cent)out of 104 from the BJP, 77 (58 per cent) out of 132 from the AAP, six (67 per cent) out of nine from the Congress and two (67 per cent) out of three independent winning candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.
The average of assets per winning candidates in the MCD Elections 2022 was Rs 4.33 crore. The average of assets per councillors in the MCD elections 2017 was Rs 2.94 crore. The average assets per winning candidate for 104 BJP winning candidates was Rs 5.29 crore ,132 AAP winning candidates was Rs 3.56 crore,nine Congress winning candidates was Rs 4.09 crore and three independent candidates have average assets worth Rs 5.53 crore.
–IANS