Candidates with muscle and money power have emerged victorious more than the others in the Punjab elections since 2004, says an exhaustive report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Punjab Election Watch in Chandigarh.

Against the Average assets of Rs 3.5 crore declared by the candidates since 2004, the average assets of the elected MPs and MLAs stood at Rs 11.42 crore, showing the influence of .

The organisations have analysed election affidavits of 3,547 candidates and 413 MLAs/MPs fielded during the Vidhan Sabha and Parliament Elections between 2004 and 2019. As per the report, 385 (11%) of the total 3,547 candidates and 69 (17%) of 413 MPs/MLAs declared criminal cases against themselves since 2004. Of these, 223 (6%) candidates and 32 (8%) MPs or MLAs had serious criminal cases against them.