Chennai: Nearly 17 per cent or 213 candidates contesting in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections have declared criminal cases against them. Ten have been charged with murder cases.
Major parties Congress and BJP have each fielded over 30 candidates with criminal cases slapped on them for the first phase of the polls that starts on 11 April with 91 constituencies going to polls.
The data was revealed in a report by the National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in which the affidavits of 1,266 out of 1,279 candidates, who are contesting in the first phase were analysed.
The affidavits of 13 candidates were not scrutinised due to unavailability of their properly scanned and complete statements.
According to the report, 12 per cent out of 1,266 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. The split contains 12 per cent convicted criminals and 10 candidates with cases related to murder (IPC Section 302) against them.
Of the 91 constituencies, 37 are red alert constituencies, meaning three or more candidates contesting the polls have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Of the 213, 25 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307). There are four candidates who have declared cases related to kidnapping, 16 have declared cases related to crime against women and 12 have declared cases related to hate speech.
Among the major parties, 30 out of 83 candidates with criminal cases are from BJP, 35 are from Congress, eight out of 32 candidates are from BSP, 13 out of 25 candidates from YSRCP, four out of 25 candidates are from TDP and five out of 17 candidates are from TRS.
Thirty-two per cent of candidates contesting elections in 2019 Lok Sabha polls phase one have assets worth 1 crore and more, the report revealed.
Among the major parties, 69 candidates out of 83 from Congress, 65 out of 83 candidates from BJP, 15 out of 32 candidates from BSP, 25 candidates from TDP, 22 out of 25 candidates from YSRCP and 17 candidates from TRS have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.
The average asset per candidate contesting in the election is Rs 6.63 crore. Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 83 Congress candidates is Rs 21.93 crore, BJP candidates is Rs 14.56 crore, 32 BSP candidates is Rs 12.63 crore, 25 YSRCP candidates is Rs 62.94 crore, 25 TDP candidates is Rs 57.77 crore, and 17 TRS candidates have average assets of Rs 45.87 crore.
The seven-phase nation election will end on 19 May, while the counting of votes will take place on 23 May.
| Who is the richest? |
| A Congress candidate contesting elections from Chevella in Karnataka is the richest candidate among those in phase one with assets worth Rs 895 crore. YSR Congress Party members occupy the next two slots. Prasad Veera Potluri (Vijaywada) is on the second place with Rs 347 crore. Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju (Narasapuram) is third with Rs 325 crore worth assets. |
| Learned or not? |
| In total, for the phase one, as many as 619 candidates have declared having educational qualification of graduate or above, while 526 candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between fifth and 12th standard. Of the lot, 66 have declared that are illiterate. |