• Friday, March 29, 2024

HEADLINE STORY

Serious criminal cases against nearly 16% candidates contesting Karnataka elections: report

India’s election commission officials along with police frisk vehicles of commuters at a highway checkpost in Bengaluru on March 30, 2023, after May 10 was announced as the date for Karnataka state legislative assembly elections. (Photo by MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Shubham Ghosh

While the southern Indian state of Karnataka gears up for a competitive election to decide its new ruling party/alliance on May 10, it has been revealed that there is not much difference between the major political parties contesting the polls in terms of fielding tainted candidates.

According to a report from Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an election watch organisation, the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 30 per cent candidates with serious criminal cases against them, while in case of the opposition Indian National Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) it is 31 and 25 per cent, respectively, affidavits filed with the Election Commission of India said, The South First reported.

According to the ADR report, 69 out of 221 candidates analysed from the Congress; 66 out of 224 from the BJP; 52 out of 208 from the Janata Dal (Secular) and 30 out of 208 candidates from the Aam Aadmi Party have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The ADR report also added that the overall number of candidates who have “serious criminal cases” (an offence for which the maximum punishment is five years or more) was 404 or nearly 16 per cent of all contestants in the upcoming elections. There are 2,613 candidates in fray for the elections in the southern state.

If compared to the scenario of the 2018 elections, the number is at least six percentage points more. Then, 254 candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

If broken down further, 49 of the 404 tainted candidates have declared cases related to crime against women and one of them is even related to rape.

Also, eight candidates have declared cases related to murder while 35 have cases related to attempt to murder.

Two candidates in these polls are “barred-entry candidates” either because they are accused in murder cases or mining scam worth millions.

The BJP has also fielded Manikantha Rathod, a rowdy sheeter who faces more than 30 criminal cases at a number of districts of Karnataka against Priyank Kharge, sitting lawmaker and the son of the Congress’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge in Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi in northern Karnataka.

In the upcoming polls, there are 111 “red alert” constituencies out of the total 224.

ADR has referred to those constituencies as ‘red alert’ where three or more candidates have declared criminal cases against them. In 2018, the number of such constituencies was 56, according to ADR.

The result of the election will be announced on May 13.

(With inputs from South First and PTI)

Related Stories

Loading