There has been a steady rise in the number of MLAs with a criminal background in the Karnataka assembly. Among the 221 newly-elected MLAs, 77 (35 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves, of which 54 MLAs have declared serious criminal cases, like murder and attempt to murder.
In 2013, the Karnataka assembly had 34 per cent of MLAs having criminal cases against them, while in 2008, the proportion of elected MLAs with a criminal background was 24 per cent, says an analysis by the Karnataka Election Watch and Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has bagged