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Cash For Votes

A fifth of India's electorate was paid cash for their votes during the past decade, according to a survey.

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A survey by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) has found that a fifth of India's electorate was paid cash for their votes during the past decade. The proportion of election bribery was almost 50 percent in Karnataka.

The study estimated that voters below the poverty line were most likely to be bribed - 73% in Karnataka against a national average of 37%.

N. Bhaskar Rao, chairman of CMS, told the Mint newspaper: "The bribe money varies from state to state. It may be Rs100-150 (a voter) in some states and it can go up to Rs1,000 in some constituencies."

The incidence of vote buying was highest in Karnataka (47%), followed by Tamil Nadu (34%) and Madhya Pradesh (33%). It was lowest in Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.

CASH FOR VOTES
State % Bribed
Karnataka  47
Tamil Nadu  34
Madhya Pradesh  33
Andhra Pradesh  31
Bihar  31
Orissa  27
Delhi  25
Gujarat  24
Chhattisgarh  22
Uttarkhand  20
Uttar Pradesh  18
Rajasthan   14
Assam  14
Kerala  13
Maharashtra  13
Haryana  8
Jharkhand  7
West Bengal  4
Himachal Pradesh  <1
Tripura  <1
National  22

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Odds & Ends | Magazine | November 2008

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