MPs with criminal cases on the rise: ADR

New Delhi: More than two in every five winners in the general elections have criminal cases against them, higher than in 2014 and 2009, according to a study by the Association for Democratic Reforms, a non-government election watchdog. Of the 539 winners analysed, 233, or 43%, face criminal charges, compared with 34% in 2014 and 30% in 2009.

Complete affidavits for three winners were not available and polling in Vellore constituency in Tamil Nadu was cancelled. Eleven of the total winners have declared cases related to murder, 30 have cases of attempt to murder and 19 face charges related to crimes against women.

Kerala tops the states with 90% of its winners facing criminal charges, followed by Bihar (82%) and Telangana (59%). Of the winners with criminal cases, 10 have been convicted, including the Congress’ Dean Kuriakose from Idukki in Kerala and the BJP’s Kailash Choudhary from Barmer in Rajasthan. Among parties with more than two winners, Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has fared the worst, with all its six winners facing criminal charges.