23% of candidates in Telangana elections have criminal cases against them: ADR
The report by the Association for Democratic Reforms also said that 25% of the 2,290 candidates in the Telangana assembly elections are crorepatis
Twenty-three percent of the 2,290 candidates in the Telangana elections have declared criminal cases against them, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)and the Telangana Election Watch, and this figure crosses 70% for candidates from the Congress and the BJP. The report also states that one-fourth of the candidates have declared assets worth more than ₹1 crore.
72% of candidates from the Congress have criminal cases against them, and 51% have serious criminal cases. The BJP’s numbers are nearly identical, at 71% and 49% respectively for criminal cases and serious criminal cases. The All India Forward Bloc has the best figures in this regard, but nearly one-fourth (24%) of even their candidates have criminal cases. Independent candidates appear to have the cleanest records, with only 14% declaring criminal cases against them.
The Telangana state legislative assembly elections are scheduled for November 30. Opinion polls have placed the incumbent BRS, led by KC Rao, ahead, followed by the Congress and the BJP.
353 or 15% of candidates have serious criminal cases against them, a slight increase from 13% in the 2018 elections. cases include 7 murder cases, 27 attempt to murder cases and 45 cases regarding crimes against women. Also, 81% of the constituencies in the state have been declared ‘Red Alert Constituencies’, meaning that 3 or more candidates standing for election from the constituency have declared criminal cases. This is a significant increase from the last Assembly elections in 2018, when 66% of constituencies were ‘Red Alert Constituencies’.
The proportion of candidates with assets worth more than ₹1 crore has remained constant from 2018 to 2023, at 25%. An overwhelming 96% of Bharat Rashtra Samithi candidates and 94% of Congress candidates are crorepatis, with the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen and the BJP following closely behind at 89% and 84%, respectively.
On an average, candidates in the election have declared assets worth ₹4.71 crore. 41.48% of candidates have assets worth less than 10 lakhs, however.
