A total of 17 percent of candidates contesting the Assembly elections this time are facing serious criminal charges with highest number of contestants are from Congress, says a joint analysis of Madhya Pradesh Election Watch (MPEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Party wise 48 percent of Congress candidates are facing criminal cases.
Of the 223 Congress candidates, who provide data to the election office, 108 have criminal cases against them. Ruling BJP’s 30 percent candidates too face criminal charges. Of 220 candidates of the saffron party, 65 have criminal cases registered against them. At least 21 percent candidates of AAP are also facing criminal cases while only 37 BSP candidates have criminal cases. The report says 55 Congress candidates have serious criminal charges against them while the count stands at 38 for the BJP.
According to the report, in 2018, 17 more candidates have declared criminal cases on them. In 2018, of the total 2716 candidates, 464 that accounts for 17 percent have declared criminal cases registered against them. In 2016 election, only 16 percent that was around 407 candidates of total 2,494 had declared criminal cases. At least 295 candidates have declared serious criminal charges on them this election. There are 16 candidates with murder (Section 302 of IPC) against them.
These include BJP candidates Pritam Lodhi, Raja Pawar and Lal Singh Arya, Congress candidates Arunoday Chaubey, Sukhdeo Paase, and Mohan Singh Sengar. Abdul Samir of BSP, Shakhwat Khan GGP, Kapil Dubey SHS, Ramnivas Urmaliya SP, Kaplidhwaj Singh SP, Nandlal Sahu Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha and independent candidates Mohit Singh Tomar and Sanju Thakur.
There are 24 candidates with attempt to murder (Section 307 of the IPC) charges on them while 6 candidates are accused of abduction. 20 candidates are accused of violence against women under Section 498A and 354 of the IPC. Sanju Thakur, an independent candidate from Jabalpur North, has 30 serious charges in 13 cases.
Vipin Vankhede, state president of NSUI a Congress candidate from Agar has 10 serious criminal charges against him. The ADR said that parameters of serious criminal charges are any crime with imprisonment of 5 or more years, non bailable warrant, murder, attempt to murder, rape, abduction, election related offence or corruption charges.
