A study claimed that the phenomenon of "money for votes" is not limited to the rural voters, but is a national phenomena spread across rural, urban and among different age groups and irrespective of educational level of voters.NEW DELHI: The lure of money continues to be one of the critical factors in influencing voters and is a rapidly rising trend in electoral politics. A seven-year study by CMS has pointed out that money power was considered one of the five critical factors in determining voting choice of undecided voters and inducing a shift in voting intentions at the last minute. The CMS-India Corruption Study 2007-2014 says, "About 70% of those who change or make up their voting choice in the last minute are influenced by anyone or a combination of these five factors — local pressures, lure of money, effective campaigns, coverage in news media and manifesto offers. In this process, lure of money is a more likely factor, not always acknowledged and often goes by group dynamics.
The study called "Lure of money in lieu of votes in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The trend: 2007-2014" described it as the "note for vote" syndrome and found that the percentage of voters who considered lure of money as a last minute factor before casting their ballot has increased in the major states where polls were held during this test period which includes states like Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra among few others.
While in Karnataka the number rose from 7% in 2008 to 15% in 2014, Maharashtra saw a rise in numbers from 2% to 10% in the same period.
The study, which took a sample of 75,000 voters during the period 2007-14, adds that "the per cent of voters who view corruption as one of the issues bothering them has also increased significantly in 2014. There is acknowledgement of money as an influencing factor in voting choice."
The study states that in polls held in 2014, 75% voters in Andhra Pradesh, 26% in Uttar Pradesh, 30% in Madhya Pradesh, 20% in Punjab and 8% in Delhi experienced such a phenomenon themselves or knew about distribution of such bribe money in the neighbourhood. Incidentally, Delhi was the only state polled that saw a drop in the number of voters paid. The report describes this as the "Arvind Kejriwal" effect. "In this election nearly 8% in Delhi acknowledged that money was distributed against less than 20% in 2009 and 30% who were expecting it prior to 2014 polls, Voters attributed this decline to Kejriwal's cadres and canvassers reaching their doorsteps," the report said.
The study claimed that the phenomenon of "money for votes" is not limited to the rural voters, but is a national phenomena spread across rural, urban and among different age groups and irrespective of educational level of voters.
Calling the 'note-for-vote' phenomenon as the "mother of all corruption", the study said the trends of the research since 2007 suggest that a citizen who gives bribe for availing basic services indicate that voters "end up paying a bribe of several times more the amount received for vote from a candidate once every few years."
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