Of these candidates, 233 are from national parties, 69 are from state parties, 29 are from registered unrecognized parties, and 44 candidates are contesting independently.

According to a report by the Meghalaya Assembly Elections and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 50% of the candidates contesting in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2023 are crorepatis.

This is an increase from the 2018 Meghalaya Assembly Elections, where 41% of the candidates were crorepatis. In that election, out of 370 candidates, 152 were crorepatis.

Out of the 375 candidates analyzed in the current report, 186 of them are crorepatis.

The report analyzed the self-sworn affidavits of all 375 candidates contesting in the upcoming elections. Among the candidates, 233 are from national parties, 69 are from state parties, 29 are from registered unrecognized parties, and 44 candidates are contesting independently.

Metbah Lyngdoh, a candidate from the United Democratic Party (UDP) contesting from West Khasi Hills, tops the crorepati list with assets worth Rs 146+ crore. He is followed by Vincent H. Pala from the Indian National Congress (INC), who is contesting from East Jaintia Hills, with assets worth Rs 125+ crore.

According to the report, the role of money power in elections is evident from the fact that all major political parties are giving tickets to wealthy candidates.

“Among the major parties, 43 (75%) out of 57 candidates analyzed from the National People’s Party (NPP), 30 (65%) out of 46 candidates analyzed from UDP, 27 (48%) out of 56 candidates analyzed from All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), 25 (42%) out of 60 candidates analyzed from INC, and 23 (38%) out of 60 candidates analyzed from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore,” the report stated.

The report also highlighted that two candidates have not declared their PAN details.

The average asset per candidate contesting in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2023 is Rs 5.91 crore, which is an increase from the average assets per candidate in the 2018 Meghalaya Assembly Elections, where it was Rs 3.54 crore for 370 candidates.

Among the major parties, the average assets per candidate for the 60 BJP candidates analyzed is Rs 2.71 crore, while for the 60 Congress candidates analyzed, it is Rs 4.34 crore. The 57 National People’s Party (NPP) candidates analyzed have average assets worth Rs 10.68 crore, 56 All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) candidates analyzed have average assets worth Rs 4.95 crore and 46 United Democratic Party (UDP) candidates have average assets worth Rs 10.50 crore.

Regarding candidates with criminal cases, out of the 375 candidates analyzed, 21 (6%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. This is a slight decrease from the 2018 Meghalaya Assembly Elections, where 25 (7%) out of 370 candidates had declared criminal cases against themselves.

Fifteen (4%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in the current elections, while in 2018, 21 (6%) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Among the major parties, 5 (8%) out of 60 candidates analyzed from Congress, 6 (11%) out of 57 candidates analyzed from National People’s Party (NPP), 1 (2%) out of 60 candidates analyzed from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and 3 (5%) out of 56 candidates analyzed from All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Despite the directions of the Supreme Court, political parties in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2023 have given tickets to around 6% of candidates with criminal cases. This is similar to their old practice of giving tickets to candidates with criminal cases. All major parties contesting in the Meghalaya elections have given tickets to 2% to 50% of candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves.

“The Supreme Court had specifically instructed political parties to give reasons for selecting candidates with criminal antecedents and why individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates in its directions dated 13th February 2020. However, it appears that these directions have had no effect on the selection of candidates by political parties in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2023,” the report stated.

The report highlights that despite mandatory guidelines from the Supreme Court, political parties in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2023 have continued to give tickets to candidates with criminal records.

The SC guidelines require parties to provide sound reasons, based on qualifications, achievements, and merit, for selecting such candidates. However, during the recent seven State Assembly elections held in 2022, parties gave unfounded and baseless reasons like popularity and social work, which is not a sound justification for fielding candidates with a tainted backgrounds.

The report further states that the lack of interest from political parties in reforming the electoral system may continue to undermine democracy, as lawbreakers become lawmakers.

Regarding gender representation, 36(10%) female candidates are contesting in the Meghalaya Assembly Elections 2023, which is a slight increase from the 2018 elections, where 33(9%) out of 370 candidates analysed were women.