Money, Muscle And Votes: India's New Portfolio Politics

2025-10-27 07:02:01

(MENAFN- Asia Times) In a democracy, when the politicians thrive but the people don't, what the system needs is not reform but rescue

When the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, it rode a wave of discontent fueled by corruption scandals, inflation and unemployment. Narendra Modi promised a new era, one built on Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (“Together with All, Development for All”). The promise was of governance, development and an end to“elite culture.”

A decade later, the record shows a more complex reality in which the slogan seems to have benefited the political class more than the people.

The Association for Democratic Reforms has released dat showing that 93% of members elected in 2024 to the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of parliament, are millionaires, each of whose millions of rupees in assets total more than $120,000 in US dollars.

India's democracy is rapidly tilting toward rule by the ultra-wealthy, plutocracy in the making. Leading this trend is the very party that claims to end the elite culture.

A democracy for the privileged

In the general election of 2024, 34 (14%) of the 240 candidates who emerged victorious from the ruling BJP declared assets equivalent to $6 million or more, 130 (54%) claimed wealth between $120,000 to $1.2 million, while another 63 (26%) reported assets between $1.2 million and $6 million. The assets of just 13 BJP winners (5%) were under $120,000 USD.

In the main opposition Congress Party, 93% of the 99 elected members are also millionaires. Among other parties with more than 20 seats, about 90% of winners fall in the millionaire category as well.

In 2024, winning BJP members reported an average wealth of nearly about $6 million compared with $2.8 million for Congress members.

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