It’s early days yet, but this Legislative Assembly appears to be going to be one to set records. Not even a week old and it already has two. Vishwajit Rane will probably go down in history as the member of a Legislative Assembly for the shortest period, which in his case is just a little over three hours, he having resigned his membership of the Goa Legislature soon after taking oath of office. That he has served two terms already and intends to re-contest from the same constituency is an entirely different issue.
In another first for Goa, all MLAs elected to the State Legislative Assembly are crorepatis. In the last election there were 37 of them who belonged to this group, this time all 40 of the elected representatives belong to the elite economic class, with their average wealth also increased. In 2012, the average assets per MLA was Rs 7.28 crore, which has gone up to Rs 10.90 crore in the 2017 elections. As the number of crorepati MLAs has been gradually increasing over the last few terms, it could well mean that future Legislative Assemblies in Goa will have all crorepatis as MLAs, with the 2017 Assembly being the first.
While that is two records already, the second one leads to a question of whether the richer you are, is it easier to get elected? An analysis of the 2017 election results and comparison to the 2012 election results does appear to indicate this. Take for instance the average wealth of the candidates who contested the election which was Rs 4.75 crore and then compare it to the average wealth of the winners which stands at Rs 10.90 crore, which is more than double the average of the candidates’ wealth, which means the richer candidates won. It has also been established that 27 of the MLAs in the House of 40, which works to 68 per cent, have assets worth Rs 5 crore and above.
A further look at the analysis indicates that the average assets of the MLAs who were re-elected in 2012 stood at Rs 10.54 crore, and went up to Rs 16.09 crore in 2017, giving a growth rate of 53 per cent or Rs 5.54 crore in the past five years.
So, is there a correlation between wealth and victory, because there doesn’t appear to be one between education and victory?
But while the wealth of the MLAs rises, strangely, the education qualifications of the MLAs do not seem to be keeping pace with the rise in their assets. While 17 MLAs are graduates or postgraduates, 18 of them have studied up to between Class VIII and Class XII, and the remaining have undergone other courses. Given that education levels in Goa and India are increasing, that less than 50 per cent of the MLAs are not graduates is a matter of concern.
There is no educational qualification prescribed for a candidate, but this phenomenon of poorly educated politicians is not peculiar to just Goa, but can be seen in States across India. Growth and proper policies are something that education can give a better perspective too, which Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is not yet a MLA, but has an IIT background, will be able to vouch for. It would, therefore, be prudent to have a well-educated person in the Legislative Assembly.
And as the Goa Assembly sets records, it also says quite loudly and clearly that the wealthier a person is, the more attractive he becomes as a politician, though his education is not a matter of concern.
