At least 22%, or 199 out of the 904 candidates contesting the seventh phase of India’s general elections on June 1 have declared criminal cases against themselves, non-governmental organization Association for Democratic Reforms said in a report on Monday.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch (NEW) analyzed the self-sworn affidavits of all 904 candidates contesting the seventh phase in seven states and one Union territory, Scroll.in reported.
Voting will take place in Bihar, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal in the final phase of the general elections.
The report found that 151 out of the 904 candidates declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
The poll watchdog classified serious criminal offenses as those that have a maximum punishment of five years or more are non-bailable, or are related to lose to the exchequer.
Serious offences also include assault, murder, kidnap, rape related, or those mentioned in the Representation of the People Act. They also include offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and crimes against women.
According to the report, 13 candidates in the seventh phase have declared cases where they have been convicted. Four candidates have declared cases against themselves related to murder. While 27 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder, 25 have declared cases related to hate speech.
Thirteen candidates contesting in the final phase of the polls have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of these 13 candidates, two have declared charges related to rape, the report said.
Among major parties, five out of the 13 candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in this phase have criminal cases against them, out of whom four have declared serious criminal cases in their affidavit.
While seven out of the nine candidates of the Samajwadi Party have criminal charges against them, out of whom six have declared serious criminal charges, 23 out of the 51 candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criminal charges. Eighteen of them have declared serious criminal charges.
Seven out of nine candidates of the Trinamool Congress have criminal cases, and three of them have serious criminal charges.
Five out of the eight candidates of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and eight out of the 13 candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal have declared criminal cases in their affidavit.
Twelve out of the Congress’ 31 candidates, two out of the Biju Janata Dal’s six candidates, two out of the seven candidates from the Communist Party of India and 13 out of the 56 candidates from the Bahujan Samaj Party have declared criminal cases against themselves.
According to the report, 299 out of the 904 candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs1 crore.
