191 BJP, 143 Congress LS poll candidates face criminal cases: ADR

New Delhi: Out of the 440 BJP candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls, 191 have declared criminal cases in their election affidavits, according to an analysis by a poll rights body.

For the Congress, out of its 327 candidates, 143, or 44 per cent, have declared criminal cases, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report based on data compiled from the affidavits on the Election Commission's website. The cases, it said, include those related to murder, attempted murder, crimes against women and hate speech.

The ADR said the data obtained from the poll panel's website reveals that a "significant portion of candidates contesting in the elections have self-declared criminal cases against them".

The analysis presents a breakdown of candidates with declared criminal cases party-wise, it said. The report stated that among the major parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 191 (43 per cent) of candidates who have declared criminal cases, while the Congress has 143 (44 per cent) of such candidates.

The report also delves into the number of candidates facing serious criminal cases.

One hundred and thirty of the total BJP candidates in the poll fray have declared serious criminal cases, while for the Congress it is 88 candidates (27 per cent of the total candidates it has fielded), according to the report.

The Samajwadi Party has 71 candidates in the elections and 40 have declared criminal cases, with 30 of them named in serious crimes.

Thirty-three of the 52 candidates of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have declared criminal cases, with 18 facing serious charges, and in the Trinamool Congress, 20 of 48 candidates have declared criminal cases with 12 facing serious charges.

The state-wise analysis also provides insights into the prevalence of candidates with criminal backgrounds.

For instance, in Maharashtra, 266 of the 1,119 contesting candidates have declared criminal cases, with 183 names serious crimes. Tamil Nadu has 137 out of 945 candidates with criminal cases, with 83 facing serious charges.

In Uttar Pradesh, 213 out of 851 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves with 179 of them being registered against serious offences.

In Telangana it is 104 of 524 candidates, 112 of 507 candidates in West Bengal and 115 of 496 candidates in Bihar. For Jharkhand it is 69 of 242 candidates, Odisha it is 52 of 207 candidates and Kerala it is 67 of 189 candidates.

In Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, 69 of 328 candidates and 88 of 450 candidates, respectively, have declared criminal cases. In Delhi, 25 of 162 candidates have declared criminal cases, the report stated.