Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections: Criminal cases against 26 out of 223 candidates in the first phase
Raipur: At least 26 of the 223 candidates analyzed for the first phase of voting on 20 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh have criminal records against them. Of these, maximum five candidates are from BJP. Chhattisgarh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have published the report. The report analyzed self-affidavits of all 223 candidates who are contesting in the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections on November 7. According to the report, out of the 223 candidates analyzed, 26 (12 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves. It said 16 (7 per cent) had declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
The report said that out of the 20 candidates analyzed from major parties, 5 (25 per cent) are from the BJP. 2 (10 per cent) out of 20 candidates analyzed from Congress, 3 (20 per cent) out of 15 candidates analyzed from Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and 4 (40 per cent) out of 10 candidates analyzed from AAP Have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
According to the report, four out of 20 (20 per cent) candidates analyzed among major parties are from BJP. 2 (13 per cent) out of 15 candidates analyzed from Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and 1 (10 per cent) out of 10 candidates analyzed from AAP have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits. It also said that out of the 20 constituencies, 5 (25 per cent) are red alert constituencies. Red alert constituencies are those where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. According to reports, all the major parties contesting in the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections have given tickets ranging from 10 percent to 40 percent to candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves. The Supreme Court, in its directions dated 13 February 2020, had specifically directed political parties to explain the reasons for such selection and why other persons without criminal background cannot be selected as candidates.
