Lucknow: In a startling revelation ahead of the sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Elections, the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have disclosed that 23% of the candidates have criminal cases against them, while 36% are crorepatis.
The comprehensive analysis scrutinized the affidavits of all 162 candidates contesting from 14 constituencies, including Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkarnagar, Shravasti, Dumariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj (SC), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machlishahr (SC), and Bhadohi.
According to the findings, 38 out of 162 candidates (23%) have declared criminal cases, with 21% facing serious criminal charges. Party-wise, the Samajwadi Party (SP) leads with the highest number of candidates with criminal cases—9 out of 12 candidates (75%). They are followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 6 out of 14 candidates (43%) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with 4 out of 14 candidates (29%). SP’s 75% candidates face serious charges followed by BSP’s 29% candidates and BJP’s (21%).
Among the candidates Babu Singh Kushwaha (SP, Jaunpur) has 25 criminal cases, Ram Bhual Nishad (SP, Sultanpur) has 8 criminal cases and Moinuddin Ahmed Khan (BSP, Shravasti) has 10 criminal cases.
In terms of wealth, 59 out of 162 candidates (36%) are crorepatis. Of this BJP’s all 14 candidates are crorepatis, followed by SP’s 11 and BSP’s 9. Maneka Gandhi (BJP, Sultanpur) is the richest among the candidates with property worth Rs 97 crore, followed by Praveen Patel (BSP, Phulpur) Rs 64 crore and Shivpal Singh Patel (SP, Pratapgarh) Rs 46 crore.
Conversely, some candidates declare considerably lesser assets, with Ram Kumar Yadav of SUCI (C) stating assets worth only Rs 1,686, Subas, an independent candidate, with assets amounting to Rs 10,000, and Urmila of Samaj Parivartan Party declaring assets worth Rs 34,000.
The educational qualifications of the candidates also paint an interesting picture, with 65% holding graduation degrees or higher, while 31% have qualifications ranging from 5th to 12th grade. Only a small fraction, 10%, of the candidates are women.
This analysis underscores the evolving landscape of politics in Uttar Pradesh, raising pertinent questions about the nexus between money, power, and electoral representation. As Chief Convenor of UP Election Watch ADR, Sanjay Singh, aptly points out, the increasing dominance of financially powerful candidates may pose challenges for the entry of honest and dedicated individuals into political arenas.
