LS elections Phase III: 570 candidates, including Amit Shah, have pending criminal cases

by April 25, 2019 Governance
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysed the self-sworn affidavits of the candidates who contested polls on April 23rd. Out of 1594, 340 candidates (21%) had criminal cases. 230 had records of serious criminal cases, out of which 13 related to murder.

In the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, 340(21%) out of 1594 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Among these candidates, 230(14%) out of 1594 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.  13 candidates have declared cases related to murder. 29 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women such as rape, assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty. 26 candidates have declared cases related to hate speech.

Party-wise candidates with declared criminal and serious criminal cases

Among Congress’s candidates, 27% (24 of 90) face serious criminal charges. Around 27% (26 of 97) of BJP candidates are accused of serious criminal charges. 10% (9 of 92) of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), 27% (6 of 22) of the Shiv Sena, 32% (6 of 19) of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), 50% (5 of 10) of Nationalist Congress Party, 40% (4 of 10) of Samajwadi Party and 44% (4 of 9) candidates from All India Trinamool Congress face serious criminal charges.

The highest proportion of candidates facing criminal charges are from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

As many as 58 candidates from Gujarat have various criminal charges registered against them. Even BJP chief Amit Shah, contesting candidate from Gandhinagar has charges of criminal intimidation against him. In his poll affidavit filed a month ago, the BJP supremo declared that he had not been convicted in any of the cases filed against him.

In Uttar Pradesh, 24 out of 120 candidates in the fray have been charged with criminal cases against their names. A maximum number of criminal cases were registered against the SP candidate from Rampur, Mohammad Azam Khan.

Richest candidates

The richest candidates in terms of assets include Devendra Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party and Udayanraje Bhosale of Nationalist Congress Party. The former has assets worth more than Rs. 204 crore and the latter more than Rs. 199 crore.

Supriya Sule of Nationalist Congress Party from Baramati in Maharashtra has declared income of more than Rs 1 crore. She has declared business as her source of income. There are 11 candidates who have no assets. The candidate who has declared the least assets is Sreejith PR, an independent candidate from the Wayanad constituency of Kerala. He has a bank balance of Rs 120.

Educational Qualification

Of 1,594 candidates, 788 (49%) had educational qualification between 5th and 12th standard.  681 (43%) candidates have a graduate degree or above. As many as 57 (3.6%) candidates are barely literate and 23 (1.4%) are illiterate.

Sections:

About Prerna Chatterjee

Prerna Chatterjee was sub-editor, Citizen Matters
Read more by Prerna Chatterjee

Comments:

  1. Saurabh says:
    April 25, 2019 at 5:13 am

    Add a Column Leadership Qualities – Problem Solving, Integrity Fulfilling past responsibilities, Ability of presenting Idea or, Debate on various forum
    for candidates.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Give the poor homes or allow them to build? Ambedkar Nagar may hold the answer

by and April 22, 2025 Governance
The residents of the resettlement site in Chennai have made gradual upgrades to their homes, but are yet to get formal land titles from the government.

Across Indian cities, resettlement policies have often failed to provide long-term solutions for displaced communities, leaving them with insecure tenure, inadequate infrastructure, and limited growth opportunities. These challenges become even more apparent in resettlement schemes such as Chennai's Perumbakkam, where displaced communities were relocated into government-built apartments nearly 30 kilometres away. Antony, one of the first allottees of a plot in Chennai's Ambedkar Nagar, compares plots and apartments. He explains that having land allows gradual construction and improvements. "This is best. Here, with land, we can construct over time. There (in Perumbakkam), they cannot. There, even if they have money,…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Making the invisible visible: Why Bengaluru needs effective groundwater monitoring

by April 16, 2025 Governance
Ten assessment points in Bengaluru are over-exploited for groundwater, while government bodies lack the resources for effective monitoring.

Monitoring groundwater level is like keeping a tab on your income and expenses—if you are spending more, it is a warning sign. You can cut down spending or find ways to earn more. Similarly, a city must decide whether to reduce extraction in certain areas or improve recharge methods, such as rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, or preserving open spaces. So, does Bengaluru have enough groundwater monitoring systems? While a WELL Labs report estimates the city's groundwater consumption as 1,392 million litres a day (MLD), BWSSB’s groundwater outlook report states that the extraction is only 800 MLD. This suggests a significant…

Continue reading