7. Officials intent on maligning a politician are likely to have a harder time manufacturing a false case involving murder charges than one alleging unlawful assembly.
8. Indeed, an investigation of several prominent politicians’ asset declarations found that, if anything, they underreported the market value of their assets. See Harinder Baweja and Aman Khanna, “Damning Self Disclosures: Top Leaders Lie on Oath,” Tehelka, January 5, 2004.
9. There are four primary difficulties: lack of standardized reporting of candidate names; party switching among candidates; redistricting of constituencies, which took place in 2007; and dynastic candidates (whose names are very close to those of their ancestors).
10. When one or both of these fields is not filled out or is difficult to decipher, I relied on supplementary information.
11. The government of Uttar Pradesh submitted the report in response to a request from the Allahabad High Court emanating from Karan Singh versus State of U.P. and Others (2006), Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 5695.
12. Elections were held early in 2002, and it is possible that many charges were actually filed after elections.
APPENDIX C
1. A brief description of the CMIE Consumer Pyramids Survey can be found here: http://www.cmie.com/kommon/bin/sr.php?kall=wcontact&page=consumer_pyramids.
2. The actual urban population of India is much larger than what the official statistics report, due to the idiosyncrasies of census definitions. For instance, if the census defined urban according to standard population thresholds, as much as 50 percent of India would be classified as urban.
Index
Note: Page numbers followed by “f,” “n,” or “t” indicate figures, endnotes, and tables, respectively.
Aadhaar biometric identification scheme, 259, 261
Aam Aadmi Party, 134, 249–50
accountability: crime in politics in relation to, 14, 22, 306–8, 307f
criminal politicians as proof of, 161
democratic, 14, 22, 160, 161–62, 306
information and, 162–66, 307–8
Adarsh Housing Society, 57–58
Adiga, Aravind, The White Tiger, 12
administrative corruption, 65–66
ADR. See Association for Democratic Reforms
Ahmed, Ashraf, 4–5
Ahmed, Ateeq, 4
Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS), 73, 75
alcohol. See liquor
All India Trinamool Congress, 119, 299, 396n30, 396n61
Ambedkar, B. R., 217
Andhra Pradesh, xii
bifurcation of, 360n2
corrupt elections in, 91
crime-politics relationship in, 25–26, 106
legislative quotas in relation to, 226–28, 227t
Ansari, Afzal, 7, 113–14
Ansari, Mukhtar, 113–14
Ansari, Sibgatullah, 114
anti-defection law, 136, 382n67
Article 356 (President’s Rule), 89, 90f
Assange, Julian, 207
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 9, 148, 150, 270, 276
Awami National Party, 301
Azhagiri, M. K., 140
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): Ansari brothers and, 114
constituents represented by, 137, 208
criminal politicians by caste in, 208, 209f
criminal politicians embraced by, 240
fundraising by, 139, 205–7, 273
Balagopal, K., 27, 112
Baliyan, Sanjeev, 285–86, 393n23
Banerjee, Sumanta, 136, 145
banking, 41
Barbados, 304
Barry, Marion, 16
Barua, Devakanta, 89
Bellary, 67–68
Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards, 65
Bentham, Jeremy, 162
Berenschot, Ward, 146, 202, 377n121
Besley, Timothy, 125, 126, 163
Bhaiya, Raja. See Singh, Raghuraj Pratap
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): control of Lok Sabha by, ix
criminal politicians embraced by, 119, 196, 241, 283–89
and Hindu nationalism, 137, 299
internal governance of, 134
membership in, 133
minority outreach of, 137
parties associated with, 281
Reddy brothers and, 67–68
Bhumihar caste, 82, 181–82, 187–88, 194–95, 373n72
bicameralism, 228–29
Bihar, xii
bifurcation of, 178
caste in, 178–80, 179f, 194–95, 372n61
corrupt elections in, 82–83, 91, 352n43
corruption in, 51
crime-politics relationship in, 113, 177–202
criminal politicians in, 177f, 197f
political economy of, 178
Birla, G. D., 94
Bjorkman, Lisa, 139, 141
BJP. See Bharatiya Janata Party
black money, 96–98, 137–42, 268, 296–97
Bollywood, 114, 184, 374n78
Boo, Katherine, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, 12
booth capturing, 82–83, 87, 90–91, 108
Bose, Subhash Chandra, 201
Brass, Paul, 119
Brazil, 16, 164, 296
bribery, 42–43, 65
briefcase politics, 96
BSP. See Bahujan Samaj Party
builders, 62, 346n146
bureaucracy: corruption in, 65–66
incentives for, 258–59
politicians’ manipulation of, 252
procedural obstacles in, 41–43, 48, 251–52
public perception of, 251–52. See also institutions and governance
Burgess, Robin, 163
Bussell, Jennifer, 343n107
CAG. See Comptroller and Auditor General
campaign costs: breakdown of, 138–40
candidate self-financing of, 116–18, 138–39
case example of, 115–18
disclosures of, 131–32, 269–70
growth of, 127–30
political parties,’ 125–37
publicity costs, 141
regulation of, xi, 130–33
vote buying, 116–18, 130, 139–41
campaign finance laws, xi, 130–33, 362n27
campaigns, conduct of, 139–40
candidate assets, 267–68
candidate expenditures, 269–70
candidate selection: dummy candidates, 141, 216–17
legal restrictions on, 275–77
parties’ methods of, 135, 295
for Rajya Sabha, 230–31
in reserved constituencies, 220–21
role of ideology in, 126, 136–37
wealth as factor in, 138–39, 146–48, 230, 305
caste: backward caste empowerment, 178–80, 194–95, 372n61
biases related to, 234–35
in Bihar, 178–80, 194–95, 372n61
of criminal politicians, 219–20, 221f
cross-caste marriage, 339n55
demographics involving, 210
legislative quotas based on, 210–28
of Lok Sabha MPs, 38f
overview of, 36–37. See also ethnicity
caste-based gangs, 93–94
caste-based justice, 137
CBI. See Central Bureau of Investigation
cement, 62
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), 60, 246, 264, 285, 286, 377n3
Central Information Commission (CIC), 270–71
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, xii
Chandra, Kanchan, 135, 169
Chandrashekhar, 105
Chavan, Ashok, 269–70
Chemin, Matthieu, 254
Chouhan, Shivraj Singh, 230
Chowdhury, Adhir Ranjan, 289
citizens. See voters
coercion, by criminal elements, 173, 189–91
Colombia, 16, 298
Communist Party of India (CPI), 80
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI[M]), 91, 119, 133,
299
Companies Act, 96, 97
competition, political, 127–28, 129f, 302–3
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), 60, 65, 272
Congress(I), 101
Congress Party (Indian National Congress, INC): in Andhra Pradesh, 27–29
in Bengal, 298–99
in Bihar, 178
criminal elements utilized by, 81–83, 85
criminal politicians embraced by, 119
decline of, 33, 84–85, 88–91
disenchantment with, ix
dominance of, in early years of democracy, 31–32, 32f, 78, 80–83, 351n28, 351n31
dummy candidates used by, 141
Indira Gandhi and, 88–89, 92, 95, 101
internal governance of, 134
membership in, 133–34
organizational decline of, 85–86
political deals made by, 60
refusal of, to dissolve governments, 353n71
and secular nationalism, 137
and ticket buying, 139
tumult in, 100–101
upper-caste support of, 372n56, 372n59
weakening of, 18
constituency service: failure of government in, 20–21, 29–30, 91–92, 251
provided by criminal politicians, 4, 5, 7, 64, 74, 106, 173, 198, 233–36
Constitution of India, 212, 223, 311
construction industry. See builders
contractors, 260
corporate financing of politics, 94–98, 138, 272–73
corruption: administrative, 65–66
criminality vs., 295–96
in electoral politics, 80–83, 87–88, 90–91, 107
extractive rents and, 57–61
Google searches for, 247, 248f
grand, 30–31, 53–69, 343n106
in institutions, 48–49
mid-level, 343n107
modernization as spur to, 49–53
opportunities for, 49–66
overlapping, 66–69
petty, 30–31, 54
political rents and, 61–64
public disclosure of, 51–52
reforms aimed at, 246–49, 282
regulatory rents and, 54–57
rents as component of, 30–31, 31f. See also criminality in politics
rents
counterfeiting, 12
courts, 265–67, 276
CPI(M). See Communist Party of India (Marxist)
credibility, criminality linked to, 172–74, 187, 191–92, 202–4
criminality in politics: case examples of, 177–202
channels for, 172–74, 187–93
competition as factor in, 302–3
corruption vs., 295–96
and credibility, 172–74, 187, 191–92, 202–4, 233–36, 294
defensive aspect of, 175–76, 193–94, 200
democracy in relation to, xiii, 13–14, 290
direct vs. indirect elections as factor in, 211, 229–31
economic effects of, 253
equilibrium regarding, 236–41
ethnicity linked to, in voter behavior, 237f
feedback loops in, 175–76
films on, 114, 360n181
historical legacies as factor in, 303–4
impact of, on citizens’ daily lives, 294
legislative quotas in relation to, 212–16, 214f, 219–28, 220f
money linked to, 121–26, 123f, 142–55
outside of India, 16, 299–304
path dependency favoring, 145, 238, 239f
pull factors attracting, 77, 87–88, 98–99, 142–48, 290–91
push factors motivating, 99, 101–4, 143–48
rationalizations of, 148, 193–95
routes of, 112–14
social biases linked to, in voter behavior, 235–36, 236f, 238f
varied methods of, 83, 111–12. See also corruption
public policy on criminality in politics
criminal politicians: ascendance of, 104–14
backgrounds of, 76–78
case examples of, 4–7, 25–29, 63–64, 73–76, 105–6, 113–14, 157–59, 181–202, 283–89
caste of, 219–20, 221f
channels for operation of, 172–74, 187–93
charges brought against, 9, 11–12
comparative advantage of, 142–43
constituency service provided by, 4, 5, 7, 64, 74, 106, 173, 198, 233–36
defensive aspect of, 202
defined, x
disclosure of information by, 9, 148–55
electoral marketplace for, x–xi, 17–23
electoral success of, 12, 120–21, 121f, 122f, 153–55, 155f, 160–61, 240, 289–90
furloughing of, for voting purposes, 3–8
geographic reach of, 10, 11f
legal restrictions on, 275–78, 390–91nn100–103
motivations and incentives of, 13, 18–19, 73–78, 98–104, 143–48, 290–91
party embrace of, xi, 13, 19–20, 104, 119–26, 203–4, 240, 291
political tools available to, 102–3
press coverage of, 12
prevalence of, x–xi, 8–11, 10f, 108–10, 109f, 310
reputations as boon to, 20, 64, 161, 172–74, 176–77, 184–86, 201–4, 233–34, 309
rise of, 84–85, 98–104
as Robin Hoods, 20, 75, 106, 184, 289, 298
as saviors, 168, 176, 375n99
social capital of, 103, 143, 145
sociopolitical context for, 18
in state legislative assemblies, 10–11
trends in, 167f
vertical integration of, 101–4
voter attraction to, xi, 20–21, 160–204, 209–11, 233–36, 291–92, 307–9, 375n91
wealth of, 151–53, 152f, 153f
cronyism, 57–58, 95, 97
crony socialism, 54
Curley, James Michael, 16
dabangg (feared/fearless leader), 184, 190, 194, 199, 201, 300
Dabangg (film), 184
dacoity, 12, 64, 76
dadas (“godfathers”), 99, 146, 158, 181, 192, 196, 200, 356n120
Dagdi Chawl, Mumbai, 73–75
Dalits. See Scheduled Castes
Das, S. K., 264
Debroy, Bibek, 43
defensive criminality, 175–76, 193–94, 200, 202
Delimitation Commission, 223, 226
democracy: criminality in relation to, xiii, 13–14, 290
development of, in India, xiii
electoral politics in, 78–88
in India, 15–16, 30, 40, 310–11. See also accountability
deregulation. See regulation and deregulation
Devi, Asha, 200–202
Devi, Rabri, 179
Dhoot, Rajkumar, 231
dignity, 174–76, 193–94
direct elections, 211
disclosure of information: on campaign finances, 131–32
on candidate assets, 267–68
on candidate expenditures, 269–70
legal rights concerning, 51–52
methodology of data collection for, 149–50
on party finances, 270–72
by political candidates, xi, 9, 15, 148–55, 165
on political contributions, 272–73
by political parties, 275
dispute resolution, criminality’s role in, 174, 192–93
dominance, contestation over, 170–71, 187–89, 194, 372n61, 373n72
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), 60
driver’s licenses, 42–43
Duke, David, 16
dummy candidates, 141, 216–17
Dunn, John, 30
ECI. See Election Commission of India
economy: dominance of, by incumbent firms, 54–55, 55f
GDP growth, 35f
government role in, 34–35
nationalization in, 96
pro-market reforms in, 36
regulation and deregulation of, 54–57, 256–57
and rich–poor gap, 40, 50, 340n61
transformation/liberalization of, 34–36, 39, 54–57, 98
wealth creation in, 50
education level, of voters, 185–86, 185f
Edwards, Edwin, 16
Election Commission of India (ECI): authority of, 110–12
campaign finance regulations of, 130–31
creation of, 80
disclosure regulations promulgated by, xi, 148–49, 165, 268–69, 271–72
enforcement actions by, 140, 270, 281, 285, 388n75
official reports of, 87, 91, 107–8
political party regulation by, 274–75
on Rajya Sabha poll, 230–31
election costs. See campaign costs
electoral marketplace, x–xi, 17–23
contextual factors in, 22–23, 237–39, 302–4, 310
equilibrium in, 236–41
markets compared to, 17–18, 76
supply and demand in, 17–18, 76, 290–92
vertical integration in, 101–4
electoral politics: advent of, 79–81
breakdown of Congress system, 83–85
calendars governing state and national, 129–30
competitiveness of, 127–28, 129f, 302–3
Congress system in, 80–83
corruption in, 80–83, 87–88, 90–91, 107
direct elections, 211
historical legacies in, 303–4
incumbents in, 102
indirect elections, 211, 228–33, 382n67
multiparty system in, 88–94
party decline in, 85–87
public funding of, 273–74
quotas for minorities, 210–28
regulation of, 110–11
scope of, 128–29
size of electorate, 127, 128f
violence connected to, 87–88, 107–8, 110, 353n61. See also voters
embezzlement, 66
emergency rule, 33, 100–101
encounter killings, 284
ethnicity: biases related to, 234–35
in contestation over local dominance, 170–71
criminality linked to, in voter behavior, 235–36, 236f, 237f, 238f, 279
as factor in voter behavior, 167–70, 371n43
in general constituencies, 213–14, 214f
and legislative quotas, 210–28
management of tensions involving, 278–80
significance of, in Indian society, 169–70. See also caste
extractive rents, 57–61
Farooqui, Adnan, 135, 139
films: on criminality in politics, 114, 360n181