Ahead
of
the
upcoming
Maharashtra
state
elections,
a
new
report
reveals
that
nearly
one-third
of
candidates
contesting
the
polls
have
criminal
cases
pending
against
them.
According
to
the
Association
for
Democratic
Reforms
(ADR),
29
per
cent
of
the
4,136
candidates,
which
translates
to
1,199
individuals,
are
facing
criminal
charges.

Among
candidates
from
national
and
state-level
parties,
the
figures
are
even
higher.
The
report
indicates
that
45
per
cent
of
candidates
from
national
parties
and
60
per
cent
from
state-level
parties
have
pending
cases.

BJP
Leads
In
Candidates
With
Criminal
Records

The
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
(BJP)
tops
the
list,
with
68
per
cent
of
its
149
candidates
facing
criminal
charges.
The
Shiv
Sena
(UBT)
follows
closely
with
66
per
cent,
while
59
per
cent
of
Congress
candidates,
52
per
cent
from
the
Shiv
Sena,
and
54
per
cent
from
the
NCP
have
similar
records.
The
figures
for
the
NCP-SP
alliance
stand
at
51
per
cent.

These
statistics
are
drawn
from
an
analysis
of
2,201
candidates
out
of
the
total
4,136
contesting
across
Maharashtra's
288
assembly
constituencies.

Crimes
Against
Women
and
Serious
Charges

The
report
highlights
that
crimes
against
women
are
the
most
common
category,
with
50
candidates
facing
such
charges.
Additionally,
six
candidates
have
been
accused
of
murder,
while
39
are
facing
charges
of
attempted
murder.

Wealthiest
Candidates
Revealed

The
ADR
report
also
sheds
light
on
the
wealth
of
the
candidates.
It
found
that
38
per
cent
(829
candidates)
are
crorepatis.
Topping
the
list
is
Parag
Shah
from
Ghatkopar
East,
who
has
declared
assets
worth
Rs
3,383
crore.
He
is
followed
by
Prashant
Thakur
from
Panvel
with
assets
of
Rs
475
crore,
and
Mangal
Prabhat
Lodha
from
Malabar
Hill
with
Rs
447
crore
in
assets.
All
three
belong
to
the
BJP.

On
the
other
end
of
the
spectrum,
26
candidates,
mostly
Independents,
have
declared
zero
assets.

Top
Earners
By
Income

Regarding
income,
Parag
Shah
leads
again
with
a
declared
income
of
Rs
44
crore,
followed
by
Muzaffar
Hussain
and
Rohit
Pawar,
each
with
Rs
23
crore
as
per
their
Income
Tax
returns
for
the
financial
year
2023-24.

Party-wise,
the
BJP
has
the
highest
percentage
of
crorepatis
at
97
per
cent,
closely
followed
by
the
Sena
(UBT)
at
95
per
cent.

Increasing
Trend
Of
Wealth
And
Criminal
Backgrounds
In
Politics

Commenting
on
these
findings,
Jagdeep
Chhokar,
founder
member
of
ADR,
noted,
"The
percentage
of
elected
representatives
who
are
crorepatis
and
have
pending
criminal
cases
is
increasing
with
every
election." He
added
that,
across
India,
the
proportion
of
Lok
Sabha
MPs
with
criminal
cases
has
risen
from
25
per
cent
in
2004
to
46
per
cent
in
2024.