Check-in: Criminal charges filed against contenders vying for first-phase LS poll positions

A review of the affidavits of 1,618 of the 1,625 candidates running in the first round of the Lok Sabha elections has shown that 252 (16%) of the candidates had criminal convictions against them; this includes all four nominees from the RJD, 13 of the 22 DMK nominees, and 36 nominees from the AIADMK. A poll rights committee said on Monday that 19 of the 56 candidates running for the Congress and 28 of the 77 candidates running for the BJP had reported criminal charges pending against them.

After analyzing the candidates’ self-sworn affidavits, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) discovered that nearly 42% of the 102 Lok Sabha seats that will be decided in the first round of the seven-phase elections on April 19 are “red alert” constituencies, meaning that three or more candidates are running in those seats and there are outstanding criminal cases against them.

Seven candidates are accused of murder, while 19 others are connected to instances involving attempted murder, according to the ADR. In their affidavits, eighteen candidates disclosed offenses pertaining to crimes against women; one of them is accused of rape in accordance with section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A coalition of civil society organizations for domestic election monitoring, the ADR conducted the study in conjunction with National Election Watch. According to the organization, 35 candidates have been connected to hate speech incidents.

In addition to the RJD, AIADMK, DMK, BJP, and Congress, two out of every five TMC candidates (40%) and three out of every seven SP candidates (43%) have criminal convictions against them.

According to affidavits, almost 28% of candidates in the first round of the elections are “crorepatis,” or those with holdings surpass Rs 1 crore, the ADR claimed while analyzing the wealth discrepancies among the candidates. The mean assets held by each candidate are Rs 4.51 crores, with significant differences seen across political parties.

The analysis revealed that, of the major parties, all four RJD candidates, 35 (97 percent) of 36 AIADMK candidates, 21 (96 percent) of 22 DMK candidates, 69 (90 percent) of 77 BJP candidates, 49 (88 percent) of 56 Congress candidates, four (80 percent) of five TMC candidates, and 18 (21 percent) of 86 BSP candidates had declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

The AIADMK’s Ashok Kumar, running from Erode, Tamil Nadu, has declared assets worth over Rs 662 crore, while BJP’s Dhevanathan Yadav T, running from Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, has declared assets worth over Rs 304 crore. Congress candidate Nakul Nath, running from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, has declared the highest amount of assets, at over Rs 716 crore.

Beginning on April 19, there will be seven phases to the Lok Sabha elections. The ballots will be counted on June 4, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek reelection a third time. The dates of the remaining stages are May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

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LS elections 2024: In Bengal, 10 of the 37 candidates running in the first round are crorepatis