Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: 23% of candidates have criminal cases against them, says ADR

Source

DNA

https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-telangana-assembly-elections-2023-23-of-candidates-in-telangana-elections-have-criminal-cases-says-adr-3069719

Author

DNA WEB TEAM

Date

11/27/2023 - 12:00

The ADR report also stated that 25% of the 2,290 candidates in the Telangana assembly elections are crorepatis.

About 23 per cent of the 2,290 candidates in the Telangana elections have declared criminal cases against them, stated a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the Telangana Election Watch. The report added that one-fourth of the candidates have declared assets worth over ₹1 crore.

While, 72% of candidates from Congress have criminal cases against them, and 51% have serious criminal cases. The BJP’s figures are similar, at 71% and 49% respectively for criminal cases and serious criminal cases. The All India Forward Bloc is better in this aspect, but one-fourth (24%) of even their candidates have criminal cases. Independent candidates have the cleanest records, with only 14% declaring criminal cases against them.

About 353 or 15% of candidates have serious criminal cases registered against them, a slight spur from 13% in the 2018 elections. The cases include 7 murder cases, 27 attempts to murder cases and 45 cases of crimes against women.

Also, 81% of the constituencies in the state have been declared ‘Red Alert Constituencies’, which denotes that 3 or more candidates contesting for election from the constituency have declared criminal cases. This is a noticeable increase from the last Assembly elections in 2018, when 66% of constituencies were identified as ‘Red Alert Constituencies’.

Meanwhile, the figures of candidates with assets worth over ₹1 crore have remained constant from 2018 to 2023, at 25%. A whopping 96% of Bharat Rashtra Samithi candidates and 94% of Congress candidates are crorepatis, with the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen and the BJP inching closely behind at 89% and 84%, respectively. On average, Candidates in the election have declared assets worth ₹4.71 crore. While 41.48% of candidates have assets below 10 lakhs.

The Telangana assembly elections are slated to be held on November 30. Opinion polls have predicted the incumbent BRS led by KC Rao ahead, followed by the Congress and the BJP.