Goa has seen a manifold increase in the number of assembly poll contestants with serious criminal charges against them, an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) of the affidavits of assets and criminal charges filed by the candidates before the returning officer has revealed.
According to the data, Goa has witnessed the number of candidates with serious criminal cases doubling every five years from two in 2007 to four in 2012 to eight in 2017 to now 18 in 2022.
Out of the 301 candidates analysed, 77 (26%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves which is a 11-percentage point increase from the 15% candidates who had declared criminal cases against them back in 2017. In 2017 Goa Assembly Elections, out of the 251 candidates analysed, 38(15%) had declared criminal cases against themselves.
“53 candidates (18%) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. In 2017 Goa Assembly Elections, 19 (8%) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves,” the NGO revealed, thereby resulting in 12 out of 40 (30%) constituencies declared as red alert constituencies.
Red alert constituencies are those where 3 or more candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
“The proportion of red alert constituencies (in Goa) is among the highest in the country, even higher than states that are otherwise known as lawless states including UP and Bihar,” ADR Goa coordinator Bhaskar Assoldekar said.
In asset declaration, Congress legislator Michael Lobo and his wife Delilah have declared joint ownership of assets to the tune of ₹93 crore while the Monserrates -- Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate and his wife Jennifer -- declared assets to the tune of ₹48.48 crore.
Also among the richest candidates is independent candidate Dr Chandrakant Shetye, a medical doctor, contesting from the Bicholim constituency who has declared assets of ₹59.63 crore.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and current Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) candidate Pravin Zantye, a cashew nut baron, claimed that he owns no immoveable assets while MGP president Pandurang “Deepak” Dhavalikar claimed the value of his immoveable assets hasn’t changed since 2007.
The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Goa Assembly Elections 2022 is ₹6.48 crore. In the 2017 Goa Assembly Elections, average assets per candidate for 251 candidates was ₹4.75 crore.
The average assets per candidate for 37 INC candidates analysed is ₹13.97 crore while that of three Goa Forward Party candidates analysed is ₹13.09 crore. The average assets per candidate for 40 BJP candidates analysed is ₹11.77 crore.
Thirteen MGP candidates have an average asset of ₹8.72 crore, 26 AITC candidates have an average asset of ₹5.33 crore, 39 AAP candidates have an average asset of ₹4.65 crore and 13 NCP candidates have an average asset worth ₹3.61 crore.
Interestingly, perhaps the first time in its history, Goa has a PhD holder among the candidates-- Congress’ Dinesh Zalmi who stands among the most qualified candidates in the state.
A total of 301 candidates are in the fray for the polls to be held on February 14 with the BJP contesting all 40 seats on its own for the first time, followed by the Congress which is contesting 37 seats with its alliance partner, the Goa Forward Party, contesting the remaining three seats.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is contesting 26 seats and its alliance partner, the MGP, is contesting 13 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting 39 seats while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its alliance partner, the Shiv Sena, are contesting thirteen seats each.
