Out of 1,181 candidates in C'garh, 1,178 have criminal cases, 72 facing serious charges; BJP highest with 17 candidates: Report

New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Out of the 1,181 candidates contesting the Chhattisgarh assembly pols, 1,178 have criminal cases against them, while 72 face serious charges, a report revealed on Wednesday.

The report said that 17 out of 90 BJP candidates and 16 out of 90 candidates of the Congress have criminal cases against them.

The report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Chhattisgarh Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 1,178 out of 1,181 candidates, who are contesting the Chhattisgarh assembly elections Phase I and II.

The report said, "Out of 1,178 candidates analysed, 296 are from national parties, 114 are from state parties, 339 are from registered unrecognized parties and 429 candidates are contesting Independently."

It said, "Out of the 296 candidates from national parties, 18 per cent or 52 candidates are facing criminal charges while 24 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves."

The report stated that out of the 114 state parties candidates, 17 have declared criminal cases against them while 8 have declared serious criminal cases. Similarly, out of the 341 (339 candidates analysed) candidates of the registered unrecognised party 36 have declared criminal cases against them while 26 have serious criminal charges against them.

"Out of 430 independent candidates (429 analysed) 21 have declared criminal cases, while 14 have declared serious criminal cases against them," it said.

The report pointed out that in the Phase 1 polls, out of 223 candidates 26 candidates had criminal cases against them while 16 were facing serious criminal cases.

In the Phase 1 polls, there were 46 out of 223 crorepati candidates, with an average asset of Rs 1.34 crore.

The report said in the second phase out of the 958 candidates (955 analysed) 100 candidates are facing criminal cases, while 56 have serious criminal cases.

In the second phase, the report said, "There are 253 crorepati candidates out of the 955 analysed and average asset of the candidates is Rs 1.99 crore."

The report stated that from the national parties, the BJP has the maximum candidates with criminal cases. "BJP has 17 candidates (19 per cent) out of 90 who are facing criminal cases, followed by Congress' 16 candidates (17 per cent). 16 out of 54 candidates analysed of the AAP, 14 out of 77 candidates analysed of Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and three out of 59 candidates analysed from BSP have criminal cases against them," the report said.

The report said that eight out of 90 candidates of the BKJP are facing serious criminal cases, while seven out of 90 from the Congress, seven out of 54 candidates analysed of the AAP, six out of 77 candidates analysed of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and two out of 59 candidates analysed of the BSP have serious criminal cases against them.

The report added that two candidates have declared cases related to crime against women, one candidate has declared a case related to murder (IPC Section 303) against himself and four candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder against themselves.

The report also stated that in 2018, the BJP has seven per cent candidates against whom criminal cases were registered which rose to 19 per cent in 2023. Similarly, the Congress has fielded 28 per cent candidates in 2018 against whom criminal cases were registered which came down to 17 per cent in the 2023 assembly polls.

The report said that there are 21 red alert constituencies in the state.

Red alert constituencies are those where three or more candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. The report said that 18 constituencies in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections in 2018 had three or more candidates with criminal cases against them.

 Polling for the first phase in 20 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh took place on November 7 and voting for 70 assembly seats is scheduled on November 17. Counting of votes will take place on December 3.