As many as 148 candidates out of the 2,076 candidates contesting for 20 parliamentary and 140 assembly seats in the second phase of elections in Andhra Pradesh are facing criminal charges, an election monitoring organisation, said on Sunday.
National Election Watch Andhra Pradesh (NEWAP),
comprising of different NGOs, which is working on electoral reforms, carried analysis of 1,265 candidates of Lok Sabha and Assembly on the basis of affidavits submitted by them with an intention to inform the voters about the background of candidates fielded by various political parties.
The second phase of election for 20 Lok Sabha and 140 Assembly seats will be held on April 23 in 10 districts of Andhra and Rayalaseema region.
Out of 254 candidates contesting Lok Sabha polls, the organisation analysed the affidavits of 214 contestants and found that 25 were facing criminal charges while out of 1,051 candidates analysed for assembly segments 123 candidates were facing criminal charges, the NEWAP said in a report released in Hyderabad.
From the 148 candidates facing criminal charges, Independents topped the list with 36, followed by main opposition TDP 27, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party 20, ruling Congress 19 and BJP five.