The elections in India in 2017 include the seven state legislative assembly elections.
Elections were held in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur in one go between February and March this year, this was announced by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi at a press conference. Elections in Five Poll-Bound States Between Feb 4 and Mar 8; Counting of Votes on Mar 11. So, the results will be declared on 11 March 2017.
Uttar Pradesh Elections 2017: Results likely to impact Congress thinking on alliances
The Congress has much at stake in the outcome of assembly elections in five states, particularly Uttar Pradesh, where its decision to abandon the original plan of contesting all seats is being viewed with some scepticism even within its own ranks. The results on March 11 will decide if the Congress decision to ally with the Samajwadi Party and contest about a fourth of 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh will set the stage for the party’s revival in the country’s most populous state or make its path more difficult. The Uttar Pradesh results are also likely to have a bearing on the party’s thinking on forging future alliances.
The Congress is hoping that the results in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa will end its electoral drought since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when it could manage only 44 seats in the 545-member house, which has 543 elected members.
The party has not won a major state on its own since that debacle. Quite apart from losing Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan in the assembly elections, the reverses in local body elections in Maharashtra and Odisha have added to the challenges faced by the party.
UP Election 2017: 160 Of The 635 Candidates In Phase 6 Are Crorepatis
A total of 160 crorepati candidates are in the fray in the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections to be held on Saturday, according to a report. Also, 126 candidates have declared criminal cases against them, the report by UP Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 635 candidates from 78 political parties, including six national parties, five state parties, 67 unrecognised parties and 175 independent candidates who are contesting in the sixth phase of UP assembly elections.
Of the 635 candidates, 160 are crorepatis, the report released yesterday by the think-tank said.
The report said that 35 candidates out of 49 from BSP, 33 of 45 from BJP, 28 of 40 from SP, 6 of 10 from INC, 8 of 36 from RLD and 23 of 175 Independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore. The average assets per candidate, contesting in the sixth phase of UP assembly election, is Rs 1.59 crore.
The three richest candidates contesting in the sixth phase are from BSP. Shah Alam Urf Guddu Jamali has total assets worth over Rs 118 crore followed by Vinayshankar (over Rs 67 crore) and Aijaj Ahmad (over Rs 52 crore), the report said.
A total of 168 candidates have not declared their PAN details, it added.
The report further said that out of 635 candidates analysed, 126 have declared criminal cases against themselves.
ADR said, 109 candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc.
Among party wise candidates with criminal cases, 18 from BJP, 24 from BSP, 5 from RLD, 15 from SP, 4 of 15 from CPI, 3 from Indian National Congress and 22 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, it said.