Uttarakhand, often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (Land of the Gods), will vote for its next Assembly on February 14. A total of 632 candidates will be contesting for 70 assembly seats. Despite the claims of all political parties, there is no real progress in improving the gender balance, the youth participation ratio, or inducting qualified candidates with no criminal history. The profile of the candidates in the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand is similar, and in some cases worse off, to those in the 2017 Assembly elections.
Let's look at the profile of the candidates who have filed their nominations in 2022 and amongst which will emerge the leaders who will govern Uttarakhand for a five-year term. The data presented below is based on ADR's analysis of 626 of the 632 sworn affidavits filed by the candidates.
43.6% of the candidates have little to no education (Class 12 or below). Graduates comprise only 22.4% of the total candidates. Only 32.6% were highly qualified (professionals and above). The education levels are broadly the same as that in the 2017 Assembly elections (45% below Class 12, 21% Graduates, and 33% highly qualified).
107 (17%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. However, 61 (10%) candidates have declared 'serious' criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits. A serious criminal cases is one where the offence is non-bailable (eg. murder, kidnap, rape related). The Congress had 16%, AAP had 13%, and the BJP had 11% of its candidates that declared serious criminal cases against themselves. In comparison, 54 (8.4%) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves in the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly Elections.
Only 10% of the total candidates in the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections are women, the same level as that in the 2017 Assembly elections. The Congress which has made women's participation and women's welfare its main poll-plank has only 7% women amongst its 70 candidates. The Uttarakhand Assembly elections have been male-dominated over the last 15 years with women's participation rate remaining below 10% - 7.1% in 2007, 8% in 2012, 9.7% in 2017, and 9.9% in 2022.
Given the median age of India's population at 28 years, only 6% of the candidates in the 2022 Assembly elections were below 30 years of age. This reflects the growing alienation of the youth from direct participation in India's electoral politics. It also serves as one of the possible reasons for the mismatch between the youth's expectations and the government policies.
45% of the candidates declared assets less than ₹50 lakhs while 44% had assets between ₹50 lakhs to ₹5crore. Only 11% fell within the richest bracket of having assets greater than ₹5 crore.
With more of the same offered, we as citizens can only exercise greater personal discretion while casting our votes and elect competent leaders who can shape Uttarakhand's destiny for the next five years.
| Also read: Historical statistics and analysis on Uttarakhand Assembly Elections |
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Jitesh Surjiani
Jitesh Surjiani is passionate about progressive change for India and its citizens. He writes about issues that are roadblocks in improving quality of life and interpersonal interactions as well as areas of public governance that fall short in intent and action.
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