Madhya Pradesh Election 2018: 759 candidates with criminal backgrounds in fray

There are more than 750 candidates out of the 2,716 nominees from various parties with criminal cases are contesting the assembly election in Madhya Pradesh this year, an analysis of the affidavits filed by them has shown.

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO that works for electoral and political reforms, and Madhya Pradesh Election Watch have said in a report that 464 candidates or 17% have declared criminal cases against them and 295 or 11% serious criminal cases.

In 2013, 407 or 16% out of 2,494 candidates had declared criminal cases against themselves and 263 or 11% nominees had a record of serious criminal cases.

Read: List of candidates in Madhya Pradesh election with criminal cases

The report was based on an analysis of the affidavits of 2,716 out of 2,899 nominees contesting the polls. It says out of the 2,716 candidates, 685 are from national parties, 348 are from state parties, 668 are from registered unrecognised parties and 1015 candidates are contesting independently.

It adds that the affidavits of 183 candidates could not be analysed as they were either badly scanned or complete documents were not uploaded on the website of the Election Commission.

Of these, 16 have declared cases related to murder and 24 have declared cases related to attempt to murder. Six candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping, such as kidnapping in order to murder and kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person.

And 20 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women, and assault or use of criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty.

Among the major parties, 65 or 30% out of the 220 candidates analysed from the BJP, 108 or 48% out of 223 candidates analysed from the Congress, 43 or 21% out of 206 candidates analysed are from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and 37 or 17% out of 214 candidates analysed from the BSP have declared criminal cases against them in their affidavits.

Among the major parties, 38 or 17% from the BJP, 55 or 25% from the Congress, 30 or 15% from the AAP, and 22 or 10% from the BSP have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The voting for the 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 28 in a single phase. The counting of votes will take place on December 11.

Madhya Pradesh has been ruled by the BJP for the decade and a half and the main opposition party Congress has left no stone unturned to wrest power in the central state, where it has held the power seat for the maximum time since Independence.

Read: How Madhya Pradesh voted in the 2013 assembly elections