1140 LS candidates have criminal cases against them: Report

NEW DELHI: Over 1,100 candidates fighting the Lok Sabha elections have criminal cases registered against them with Congress and BJP topping the list of such nominees, a report claimed on Monday.

Out of a total 7,450 candidates whose affidavits were studied, 1,140 have criminal cases against them, the report prepared by Association of Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch said, adding this accounts for 15.1 per cent of the total contestants.

The Congress party has topped the list with 114 such candidates closely followed by BJP (113) and BSP (105). The Samajwadi Party has 55 candidates with criminal records while CPI(M) has 20 and CPI seven.

According to the study, 499 candidates are charged with heinous crime and Congress and BSP are on the top in this list with 43 candidates each followed by BJP (41) and SP(33).

There are 188 "red-alert" constituencies in the country having three or more candidates with criminal records, it said, adding Uttar Pradesh has topped the list with 40 such seats followed by Bihar (33).

Revealing the financial standing of the contesting candidates, the analysis shows there are 1,205 "Crorepatis" belonging to the four main political parties.