A total of 174 candidates contesting in the first phase of the Jharkhand elections have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by the Jharkhand Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The analysis, which examined the self-sworn affidavits of 682 out of 683 candidates, shows that 127 of these candidates have declared serious criminal charges.
The ADR report also pointed to a high number of “red alert” constituencies — those where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases. A total of 29 out of 43 constituencies, or 67%, were designated as red alert constituencies.
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The analysis covered the 43 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase. One independent candidate, Brajendra Hemrom from the Torpa (ST) constituency, could not be included in the analysis due to the unavailability of his complete affidavit.
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Jharkhand votes in two phases – November 13 and 20. Results will be announced on November 23.
According to the ADR report, 26% of the 682 candidates have declared criminal cases, while 19% have declared serious criminal cases. Among the major political parties, the BJP has the highest proportion of candidates with criminal cases, with 56% of its 36 candidates declaring such cases. The Congress follows with 65% of its 17 candidates, while the JMM has 48% of its 23 candidates, and the BSP has 28% of its 29 candidates. Other parties such as RJD and JD(U) have also reported significant numbers of candidates with criminal backgrounds.
The report also highlights that several candidates have declared serious charges. The BJP has 42% of its candidates with serious criminal cases, followed by Congress (47%) and JMM (30%). Among other parties, the RJD has 60% and JD(U) has 100% of its candidates with serious criminal cases.
The ADR report also revealed that 11 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, and four candidates have declared murder charges (under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code).
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