16% of the candidates who have filed nomination for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 have a criminal case against them, revealed the report by the National Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), analysing the affidavits filed by the candidates.
This translates to 252 out of 1,618 candidates having a criminal case against them.
The report revealed that serious cases are registered against 10% of candidates. 7 candidates face murder charges, 18 face rape charges, and there are 35 candidates facing hate speech cases.
According to the report, criminal cases have been filed against 28 out of 77 candidates of BJP and 19 candidates of Congress. As far as RJD is concerned, criminal cases have been filed against all four candidates of this phase.
The proportion of candidates with criminal cases from DMK, SP, TMC and BSP is 59%, 43%, 40%, and 13% respectively. A red alert has been issued on 42 out of 102 Lok Sabha constituencies.
A red alert is issued for seats where criminal cases are registered against more than three candidates.
Candidates’ wealth
According to the ADR report, out of 1,618 candidates, more than 450 have assets of more than ₹1 crore.
90% of BJP candidates are millionaires. While 88% of Congress candidates have assets of more than ₹1 cr.
However, there are 10 candidates contesting in the first phase who have said that they do not have any assets.
The average wealth of all candidates is ₹4.51 cr. The five TMC candidates have an average wealth of ₹3.72 cr.
The top three candidates in terms of assets include Congress’ Nakul Nath (over ₹716 cr), AIADMK’s Ashok Kumar (₹692 cr) and BJP’s Devanathan Yadav T (₹304 cr).
The candidates who declared the lowest assets belong to Congress.
First phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2024
The first phase of voting will be held on Apr 19 in which voting will be held for 102 Lok Sabha seats in 21 states. This time voting will be done in seven phases. After Apr 19, voting will be held on Apr 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
Elections are to be held in seven phases in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The result will be announced on June 4.