NEW DELHI: Overall just over 29% of the candidates facing off in the Haryana elections from the two main parties, BJP and Congress , are ‘ dynasts ’ with a family legacy in politics, according to a new analysis by non-profit Prajatantra . Haryana goes to polls on October 5.
According to the report, while over 21% of BJP candidates have a family legacy in politics, this percentage stands at around 37% in case of Congress. The analysis focuses on the data collected for 178 candidates from the two major national political parties in the fray - the BJP and Congress.
The report is part of a longitudinal study that plans to cover states to identify the role played by factors like family legacy, wealth and criminal cases with regards to candidates to understand gatekeeping practices that act as a barrier for people from non-privileged backgrounds to enter politics.
Data drawn from affidavits on financial assets shows among all candidates, 95% are crorepatis, with assets exceeding Rs 1 crore. The largest concentration of candidates falls within the Rs 1-5 crore and Rs 5-10 crore asset brackets, each category accounting for nearly 22% of the total candidates. Almost 8% candidates have assets worth over Rs 50 crore and 2.8% have assets of more than Rs 100 crore. There are 1.1% with assets of over Rs 300 crore. Citing this data the report emphasises that wealth remains a significant gatekeeping factor in Haryana’s political landscape.
The study shows that the most prominent pathway to non-dynastic entry in case of BJP in Haryana is party organisation (22%) where individuals rise through the party's internal ranks followed by local politics (18%) and ‘Association with the Sangh’ at (10%). In the case of Congress the top methods of entry are local politics (11%) followed by party organisational politics (9%), and student politics (8%).
In terms of generational continuity the report shows that a significant 67% of the total candidates from within the category who are classified as “dynasts” belong to second-generation political families . Third-generation dynasts make up 15% of the candidates. First-generation dynasts, entering politics for the first time with the backing of their brothers or sisters, account for about 2% of the dynastic candidates. Nearly 2% of the dynastic candidates come from fourth-generation political families.
“This strong representation of multi-generational political families, particularly within the national political parties, underscores how political power remains concentrated within a few prominent families, further limiting opportunities for non-dynastic candidates to break into electoral politics,” Shweta Sharma, co-founder and research director at Prajatantra highlights citing the report.
“Although the prevalence of candidates with criminal antecedents is less pronounced than other gatekeeping factors , 12.9% of the candidates have declared criminal cases against them and 7.8% have serious criminal cases against them. Out of these 7.8% candidates, 11 are from INC and 3 are from BJP,” the report highlights.
According to the report, while over 21% of BJP candidates have a family legacy in politics, this percentage stands at around 37% in case of Congress. The analysis focuses on the data collected for 178 candidates from the two major national political parties in the fray - the BJP and Congress.
The report is part of a longitudinal study that plans to cover states to identify the role played by factors like family legacy, wealth and criminal cases with regards to candidates to understand gatekeeping practices that act as a barrier for people from non-privileged backgrounds to enter politics.
Data drawn from affidavits on financial assets shows among all candidates, 95% are crorepatis, with assets exceeding Rs 1 crore. The largest concentration of candidates falls within the Rs 1-5 crore and Rs 5-10 crore asset brackets, each category accounting for nearly 22% of the total candidates. Almost 8% candidates have assets worth over Rs 50 crore and 2.8% have assets of more than Rs 100 crore. There are 1.1% with assets of over Rs 300 crore. Citing this data the report emphasises that wealth remains a significant gatekeeping factor in Haryana’s political landscape.
The study shows that the most prominent pathway to non-dynastic entry in case of BJP in Haryana is party organisation (22%) where individuals rise through the party's internal ranks followed by local politics (18%) and ‘Association with the Sangh’ at (10%). In the case of Congress the top methods of entry are local politics (11%) followed by party organisational politics (9%), and student politics (8%).
In terms of generational continuity the report shows that a significant 67% of the total candidates from within the category who are classified as “dynasts” belong to second-generation political families . Third-generation dynasts make up 15% of the candidates. First-generation dynasts, entering politics for the first time with the backing of their brothers or sisters, account for about 2% of the dynastic candidates. Nearly 2% of the dynastic candidates come from fourth-generation political families.
“This strong representation of multi-generational political families, particularly within the national political parties, underscores how political power remains concentrated within a few prominent families, further limiting opportunities for non-dynastic candidates to break into electoral politics,” Shweta Sharma, co-founder and research director at Prajatantra highlights citing the report.
“Although the prevalence of candidates with criminal antecedents is less pronounced than other gatekeeping factors , 12.9% of the candidates have declared criminal cases against them and 7.8% have serious criminal cases against them. Out of these 7.8% candidates, 11 are from INC and 3 are from BJP,” the report highlights.
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