Election is gradually becoming rich and criminal’s game
Dr Santosh Kumar Mohapatra
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has urged citizens not to miss the opportunity to vote in the general elections, saying that it is the “foremost duties” in a constitutional democracy.
In a video message for the Election Commission’s ‘My Vote My Voice’ mission for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,

Justice Chandrachud said, “We are citizens of the world’s largest democracy, which is our country.”
Justice Chandrachud said the citizens have a participatory role in electing the government and that is why it is said that “this government is a government of the people, by the people and for the people”. But bitter truth is that election is gradually becoming is rich and criminal’s game . Orissa High Court former Chief Justice S. Muralidhar in Chennai on April 28, 2024 said tyrants getting elected through a democratic process

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits on 1,618 out of the 1,625 candidates contesting in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls. A total of 252 candidates in the fray for the first phase of the general election on April 19 have criminal cases against them, which included seven with murder and 19 with attempt to murder charges

Similarly, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 1,192 out of 1,198 candidates, who are contesting in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase II in 12 states. Out of 1,192 candidates contesting in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, 250 have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report.
Approximately 28% of candidates in this phase are ‘crorepatis’, possessing assets exceeding Rs 1 crore. The average assets per candidate amount to Rs 4.51 crore, showing differences across party lines. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath is the richest candidate contesting in phase one of the Lok Sabha elections.
Nakul Nath, contesting from Chhindwara, has declared assets worth Rs 716 crore in his election affidavit for the 2024 general elections. This also includes movable assets worth Rs 19.20 crore belonging to his wife, Priya Nath
The second-richest candidate in phase one is Ashok Kumar, the AIADMK candidate from Erode, Tamil Nadu, with declared assets worth Rs 662 crore. Following closely behind is Dhevanathan Yadav T, a BJP candidate contesting from Sivaganga, also in Tamil Nadu, with assets worth Rs 304 crore.
. A total of 167 candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, while 32 candidates have declared cases who have been convicted. Three candidates have declared cases related to murder. Out of the 1192 candidates contesting in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, 390 (33 per cent) are “crorepatis”. The average asset per candidate contesting in the Lok Sabha phase II election is Rs 5.17 crores.
The top three candidates with highest declared assets in the phase two are Congress’ Mandya (Karnataka) candidate Venkataramane Gowda with Rs 622 crore worth of assets, followed by Congress’ Bangalore Rural Candidate D K Suresh with Rs 593 crore worth of assets and BJP’s Mathura candidate Hema Malini, who has declared assets worth Rs 278 crore. According to ADR analysis, 574 (48 per cent) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above