8th phase of polling has 177 tainted candidates in the fray

Additionally, 272 of the 890 candidates in the fray have assets running into crores, reports Vicky Nanjappa.

The eighth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 7 will see a total of 897 candidates battling it out for power. Of these the affidavits of 890 candidates have been analysed and the Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that 177, or 20 per cent, of them have pending criminal cases against them.

The analysis also shows that of these, 125 of them have serious criminal cases registered against them, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, electoral violations and crimes against women. Another nine candidates, in their affidavits, have declared cases related to murder, while 32 have declared cases of attempt to murder.

Pawan Pandey of the Bahujan Samaj Party, contesting from Sultanpur, has declared rape charges against himself, and eight other candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Religious crimes

Other than cases of violence against women and murder, five other candidates have declared cases related to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place or birth, as per Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code.

Another candidate has a case related to deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs under Section 295A of the IPC whereas two other candidates have cases related to injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion.

Financial backgrounds

Additionally, of the 890 candidates analysed, 272 candidates have assets running into crores, with the average assets per candidate being Rs 5.9 crore. The average asset worth of 58 Congress candidates is Rs 12.91 crore, while that of 40 Bharatiya Janata Party candidates is Rs 17.32 crore. The average asset worth of 43 Aam Aadmi Party candidates is Rs 1.74 crore and the average asset worth of 60 BSP candidates is Rs 2.61 core.

Complete Coverage: Election 2014