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Virendra Singh Rawat
Political commentator
Was it the positive effect of demonetisation?
The number of contestants in 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election dropped by almost 30 percent compared to 2012.
Against over 6,800 candidates fighting as party symbols or independents in 2012 UP election, the corresponding contestants’ figure fell drastically to about 4,800 in 2017.
The contestants’ strength dropped even if we considered and factored in the pre-poll alliances of Congress-Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party-Apna Dal in the state.
There was a jump of over 52 percent in the number of candidates contesting 2012 poll vis-à-vis 2007, when 4,487 contested under party symbols or as independents.
Demonetisation, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, as a major decision to root out black money, unaccounted cash economy and tax evasion, had sapped the economy of almost 85 percent of liquidity.
Under demonetisation, the high value Indian currency notes with 1,000 and 500 denomination were scrapped at one go, although people were given several weeks to exchange them for new notes or to deposit them in commercial banks.
It was already expected that demonetisation could put a tab on the number of contestants in these polls.
