33 Jharkhand candidates face criminal charges

Of the 33 candidates facing criminal charges, the BJP has fielded six, the JMM four, the JD-U and CPI-Ml three each.

At least 33 of 182 candidates contesting parliamentary elections in Jharkhand are facing criminal charges.

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Four candidates own property worth more than Rs.10 million. Among them is External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha.

Twelve candidates are not aware of their educational qualifications, according to a study conducted by NGO Election Watch.

Only 44 candidates have filed details their income. Among the defaulters is Karia Munda, minister for non-conventional energy in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.

"We reviewed the nominations of 103 candidates. The study is based on the details filed by the candidates along with their nominations," said Election Watch member Sudhir Pal.

Of the 33 candidates facing criminal charges, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded six, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) four, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-Ml) three each, and the Congress one. The remaining 16 belong to regional parties.

Prominent among those facing criminal charges are JMM chief Shibu Soren, former assembly speaker and JD-U candidate Inder Singh Namdhari, the BJP's Rabindra Pandey, Dukha Bhagat, Lakshman Gilua and Rita Verma, and Thomas Hansda of the Congress.

Pandey is also among the four candidates apart from External Affairs Sinha who owns property worth more than Rs.10 million. The other two are Dhirendra Agrawal of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and former minister Subodh Kant Sahay of Congress.

As for qualifications, two are engineers, 14 are postgraduates, 25 are graduates and three are non-matriculates, the survey found.