In Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and The National Election Watch analyzed the self-sworn affidavits of all 1,352 contending candidates. Their findings reveal that 244 (or 18%) of these candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, with 172 of those cases being serious in nature. The statistics also show that 38 candidates have cases related to crime against women, while 24 are implicated in attempted murder cases.
An alarming trend is the high prevalence of criminal cases among major State and national parties. Excluding the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC), all major State parties have at least 30% of their Phase 3 contesting candidates facing criminal charges. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC), two major national parties, also have a significant number of candidates with criminal cases, at 27% and 38%, respectively.
A geographical analysis of the data shows that the constituencies of Bijapur, Fatehpur Sikri, Araria, Sangli, South Goa, Sangli, and Madha have the highest percentage of candidates with criminal cases. Additionally, the states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Bihar, and West Bengal have the highest proportion of candidates with criminal cases among their contesting candidates.
The ADR and NEE’s analysis also sheds light on the financial status of the candidates. Over 85% of the contesting candidates from major parties are crorepatis. Among the national parties, 94% of BJP candidates and 88% of Congress candidates are crorepatis. All major state parties’ candidates, with the exception of the Samajwadi Party (SP), are also crorepatis.
An examination of the distribution of assets reveals that the BJP has the highest median assets, with ₹6.95 crores held by their candidates. Congress candidates have a median asset value of ₹6.4 crores. However, it is noteworthy that Congress candidates with criminal cases have a higher median asset value (₹8.6 crores) than BJP candidates with criminal cases (₹4.4 crores).
In terms of gender representation, over 35% of the constituencies in Phase 3 have no female candidates. Out of the 94 constituencies on poll during Phase 3, 34 have no female candidates contesting, similar to the trend observed during Phase 2. Moreover, 57 constituencies have 10% or fewer female candidates. Among the major state parties that do have female candidates, the number of female candidates contesting is in single digits.
