Telangana elections 2023: 82 of 119 winning candidates have criminal cases

As many as 59 winning candidates in the Telangana Assembly elections 2023 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms

Out of the 119 winning candidates in the Telangana Assembly elections 2023, 82 (69 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Telangana Election Watch.

The ADR and the Telangana Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 119 winning candidates in the Telangana Assembly polls.

In a press release, the ADR stated that 59 (50 per cent) winning candidates in the Telangana Assembly elections 2023 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. 

In the 2018 Telangana Assembly elections, of the 119 MLAs analysed, 73 (61 per cent) MLAs had declared criminal cases against themselves, and 47 (40 per cent) had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

 

The press release further stated that one winning candidate has declared a case related to murder, registered under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); seven winning candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder under section 307 of the IPC; and two winning candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Party-wise candidates with criminal cases

The affidavits analysed by the ADR showed that 51 (80 per cent) out of 64 winning candidates from the Congress, 19 (49 per cent) out of 39 winning candidates from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), seven (88 per cent) out of eight winning candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one (100 per cent) winner candidate from the Communist Party of India (CPI), and four (57 per cent) out of seven All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) winning candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

In its report, the ADR stated that the candidates who declared serious cases against themselves include 31 winning candidates from Congress, 17 winning candidates from the BRS, seven from the BJP, one winning candidate from the CPI, and three from the AIMIM.

Financial background

Out of the 119 winning candidates analysed, 114 are crorepatis, whereas in 2018, 106 MLAs were crorepatis. In 2023, the candidates that have declared assets worth over Rs 1 crore include 60 from the Congress, 38 from the BRS, eight from the BJP, one from the CPI, and seven from the AIMIM.

The press release stated, "The average of assets per winning candidate in the Telangana Assembly Elections 2023 is Rs 38.88 crore. The average of assets per MLA in the Telangana Assembly Elections 2018 was Rs 15.71 crore."

Stating the average assets per winning candidate from various parties, the press release stated that the average assets per winning candidate for 64 Congress winning candidates are Rs 48.20 crore, 39 BRS winning candidates is Rs 32.62 crore, eight BJP winning candidates is Rs 21.83 crore, one CPI winner candidate is Rs 2.33 crore. Seven AIMIM winning candidates have average assets worth Rs 13.19 crore.

Background details

The press release stated that 40 winning candidates have declared their educational qualifications to be between class 5 and class 11. In comparison, 72 winning candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate and above. Five winning candidates are Diploma holders, and two are just literate. It further showed that 23 winning candidates are between the age of 25 and 50 years, while 96 are between 51 and 80 years.

As many as 10 winning candidates are women, whereas in 2018, there were six women MLAs.