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Around 360 out of the 1,710 candidates contesting the upcoming Phase-4 of Lok Sabha elections are facing criminal charges, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch revealed. This makes up about 21 per cent of all candidates contesting the polls scheduled to be held on May 13. Moreover, 16 per cent of candidates contesting the polls are facing serious criminal charges, the report said.
Serious criminal cases include offences that carry a maximum punishment of five years or more. This includes non-bailable offences, electoral offences (like bribery), offences related to assault, murder, kidnap, rape, corruption and crimes against women.
The Election Commission of India had stated that all political parties needed to upload “detailed information regarding candidates with pending criminal cases including the nature of the offences, relevant particulars like whether charges have been framed, the concerned Court, the case number etc,” in compliance with Supreme Court directions from February 2020.
Telangana reportedly has the highest number of candidates with 525 contesting 17 seats, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 454 candidates contesting 25 seats, and Maharashtra with 298 contesting 11 seats. In Jammu & Kashmir, 24 candidates are contesting one seat.
There are a total of 1,717 candidates contesting polls in Phase 4, however, seven candidates could not be analysed as their documents and affidavits were not properly scanned during the time of the report.
Here is a breakdown of criminal cases against candidates in Phase 4 Lok Sabha elections.
Lok Sabha 2024 candidates with criminal background
Out of 1710 candidates analysed, the report found:
>21 per cent (360 candidates) have declared criminal cases against themselves
>16 per cent (274 candidates) have serious criminal cases
>17 candidates have declared convictions
>11 candidates face charges related to murder
>30 candidates are implicated in cases related to attempted murder
>50 candidates have charges related to crimes against women, including 5 facing charges of rape
>44 candidates have cases related to hate speech
Criminal background
>17 candidates declared that they were convicted in the cases against them
>11 candidates declared cases related to murder against them under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302
>30 candidates declared cases related to attempted murder (IPC Section 307) against them
>50 candidates have cases against them related to crimes against women. Among them, five candidates declared charges related to rape (IPC Section 376)
>44 candidates have declared charges related to hate speech against them.
Party-wise list of candidates with criminal background:
The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Shiv Sena, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Shivsena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Samajwadi Party (SP) have candidates with criminal cases against them.
BJP, Congress, YSRCP, TDP, Shivsena (UBT), AITC, and SP have candidates with serious criminal cases.
Parties with candidates with criminal cases in Phase 4:
AIMIM: 100 per cent (3 out of 3 candidates)
Shiv Sena: 67 per cent (2 out of 3 candidates)
BRS: 59 per cent (10 out of 17 candidates)
Congress: 57 per cent (35 out of 61 candidates)
BJP: 57 per cent (40 out of 70 candidates)
TDP: 53 per cent (9 out of 17 candidates)
BJD: 50 per cent (2 out of 4 candidates)
RJD: 50 per cent (2 out of 4 candidates)
Shivsena (UBT): 50 per cent (2 out of 4 candidates)
YSRCP: 48 per cent (12 out of 25 candidates)
TMC: 38 per cent (3 out of 8 candidates)
SP: 37 per cent (7 out of 19 candidates)
Parties with candidates with serious criminal cases in Phase 4:
AIMIM: 100 per cent (3 out of 3 candidates)
Shiv Sena: 67 per cent (2 out of 3 candidates)
BRS: 59 per cent (10 out of 17 candidates)
BJD: 50 per cent (2 out of 4 candidates)
BJP: 46 per cent (32 out of 70 candidates)
Congress: 36 per cent (22 out of 61 candidates)
YSRCP: 36 per cent (9 out of 25 candidates)
TDP: 35 per cent (6 out of 17 candidates)
Shivsena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray): 25 per cent (1 out of 4 candidates)
AITC: 25 per cent (2 out of 8 candidates)
SP: 21 per cent (4 out of 19 candidates)
Red alert constituencies in Phase 4
Around 60 per cent (58 out of 96) constituencies are red alert, indicating 3 or more candidates with criminal cases.
Phase 4 will see 96 constituencies from 10 states and Union territories (UT) go to polls. The counting of votes for all polls will be done on June 4. The states/UTs going to polls include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
