-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Money power seems to have emerged the winner again in this round of Haryana assembly elections with an overwhelming 83% of the winning candidates part of the crorepati club. About 75 of the 90 newly elected MLAs in Haryana are crorepatis with BJP leading the pack. Forty of its legislators boast of assets in excess of Rs 1 crore. Though the total number of criminal netas...

-The Hindu Corruption in India has undergone a qualitative shift from the days of licence Raj to the era of liberalisation. Opportunities for making money have come in handy for politicians, who were also dealing with a new political situation of fragmentation and instability. In the days leading to the 2008 Assembly election in Karnataka, slum-dwellers in Bangalore were startled to see small bundles flying in through their windows at night. The...

The ADR was set up in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. Based on its Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Supreme Court in 2002, and subsequently in 2003, made it mandatory for all candidates contesting elections to disclose criminal, financial and educational background prior to the polls by filing an affidavit with the Election Commission. Since 2002 ADR has been conducting multiple...

-Frontline   Political parties flush with funds provided by corporate houses are winning over journalists, and some news organisations are creating packages for election coverage, making the phenomenon of ‘paid news' all pervasive. THE credibility of journalism and journalists has been greatly undermined by the scourge of cash for coverage, a much-abhorred sickness in the profession worldwide. News space on television, radio and newsprint is compromised with impunity with blatant advertising parading...

-The Hindustan Times   An increasing number of candidates facing criminal charges are being fielded by India's political parties at all levels of elections, including state polls, data from over a 10-year period shows. Underlining the seriousness of the issue, two new studies suggest stronger correlation between wealth, crime and winning ability. Overall 17% of the candidates contesting the 2014 elections have a criminal background, up from 15% in 2009, when the previous...