They do things differently in Karnataka. Budding politicians, it seems, should concentrate less on smiling inanely and kissing babies, and more on their ability to "unleash terror and secure funds for the party." That at least is one of the conclusions drawn by Karnataka Election Watch (KEW) an NGO which has conducted a survey to find out the criminal background of candidates.
Karnataka goes to the polls today and the people of this south Indian state have the opportunity to choose their next crooked parliament. No less than forty seven political candidates have criminal convictions which, as appalling as that might seem, is still well down on the ninety one criminals fielded in the 2004 elections.
Back then, no single party ended up with a large enough majority to form a government and so we had an uneasy alliance between first the JD(S) and Congress parties and latterly the JD(S) and BJP. That all fell apart when, in a remarkable about-turn, the JD(S) refused to hand over power to the BJP. Poor old BJP stalwart BS Yeddyurappa, (see previous posts), was Chief Minister for just a week, and ever since then, central government has been ruling the state.
But now there is opportunity for change and the people of Karnataka can choose their next criminals. Each of the three main parties mentioned above have 10 or more ex felons on their books, and overall the list of crimes ranges from murder or attempted murder (eight candidates) to criminal intimidation and death threats, assault, grievous hurt, use of dangerous weapons, theft, cheating and forgery. There may even be a convicted shoplifter or two in there.
As Professor Trilochan Sastry of KEW noted in Bangalore Mirror mid week, "the overall quality of candidates leaves much to be desired."
Originally published on Blogger on 10th May 2008.
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