Candidates facing serious criminal cases elected to civic body

The Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC)'s just elected general body has members who face serious criminal cases, while over 50 winners are crorepatis.
Two NGOs working for electoral and political reforms have found that out of the 102 winning candidates (in the 115 member civic body), whose affidavits were analysed, 17 of them (a shade over 17%) have criminal cases pending against them.
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Maharashtra Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of the winning candidates. They could not examine 13 affidavits as they were either incomplete or unclear.
Out of the 102 winners analysed, 12 of them (12%) have serious criminal cases pending against them.

Bhahujan Vikas Aaghadi (BVA) led by Maharashtra MLA Hitendra Thakur swept the June 14 polls, bagging 106 of the total 115 seats, and retained power in the civic body having jurisdiction over Vasai and Virar, distant suburbs of Mumbai.
Shiv Sena won 5 seats, Independents 3 and BJP 1. The results were announced yesterday.

Fourteen (15%) out of 93 winners from BVA and 1 (20%) out of the 5 winners from Shiv Sena have declared that criminal cases have been lodged against them, ADR said in a statement here today.
An analysis of financial background of the winning nominees found that out of the 102 Corporators 56 of them (55%) were crorepatis.

"Six winners declared assets worth more than Rs 10 crore with Thakur (of BVA) topping the list with assets of more that Rs 158 crore," said the statement.