Agencies
New Delhi, Apr 9: Sixteen percent of contestants in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections have criminal cases against them, with Jharkhand topping the list among 12 states, followed by Bihar and Maharahtra.
An analysis for 12 states where election will be held on April 17, released today by National Election and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) showed 28 percent candidates in Jharkhand have criminal cases followed by Bihar (26 percent) and Maharashtra (21 percent).
Twelve candidates have murder cases against them while 27 have declared cases of attempt to murder in their affidavits, the analysis said.
"Twelve candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women. Dambale Rahul Dharma an Independent candidate from Pune constituency, Maharashtra has declared a case related to rape," the report said.
The analysis based on the self-sworn affidavits of 1739 candidates out of 1761 candidates who are contesting in the Phase five of Lok Sabha 2014 elections, said BJP outnumbered Congress in giving tickets to candidates with criminal backgrounds for the fifth phase.
Twenty-two out of 101 candidates (22 percent) from Congress, 30 out of 105 candidates (29 percent) from BJP, 16 out of 108 candidates (15 percent) from AAP, 22 out of 118 candidates(19 percent) fielded by BSP and 66 out of 680 (10 percent) independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, the report said. Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur, which have one Lok Sabha seat each, have no candidates with criminal background out of their 13 and 8 candidates respectively.
According to the analysis, 27 per cent of the total candidates are 'crorepatis'. Infosys co-founder and Congress candidate from Bangalore South, Nandan Nilekani, has total assets to the tune of Rs 7,710 crore.
JD(U) candidate Anil Kumar Sharma who is contesting from Jahanabad constituency in Bihar has declared total assets of Rs 849 crore.
Interestingly, 14 candidates have declared their total assets as zero. Kadam Sagar Uttamrao, who is contesting from Satara constituency (Maharashtra), has only Rs 150, followed by Satav Atmaram Raghoji and Popat Manik Fule, both candidates from of Maharashtra, have declared Rs 500 each as their assets.
As per the analysis, 16 percent candidates in the second phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh have a criminal background.
Election will be held on April 17 in 121 seats in 12 states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur. |
