Asia Times | 43% of new Indian MPs are prosecuted

Of the newly elected members of parliament in India, almost half are facing criminal charges and their numbers are growing.

In a shocking revelation, an badysis shows that the chances of winning in the lower house of Parliament this year for a candidate involved in reported criminal cases were 15.5%, compared with only 4.7% for candidates with healthy backgrounds. .

In the world's largest democracy, 43 percent of the candidates elected in general elections, or 233 out of 539, have declared pending criminal charges, according to a report by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The election of these candidates has increased by 26% since 2014 and by 44% since 2009.

Indian law prohibits persons convicted of a misdemeanor and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years or more to have participated in elections. But people who face charges only are free to challenge the elections. Meanwhile, the Indian justice system is evolving slowly and can take decades to resolve a case.

Of the 7928 candidates badyzed by ADR during this election, 1500 (19%) had declared the initiation of criminal proceedings against them. The share was 17% in 2014.

In addition, 159 (29%) of the winners face serious criminal charges, including cases of rape, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and crimes against women.

The Bharatiya Janata party, which won the majority elections, can also boast the largest number of parliamentarians facing criminal prosecution. No less than 116 of the 303 elected deputies of the BJP (39%) have pending criminal cases.

Other parties, however, beat the BJP in percentage terms. Of the parliamentarians involved, 29 (57%) of Congress, 13 (81%) of Janata Dal-United, 10 (43%) of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. and nine (41%) of the Trinamool Congress, according to the report.

Dean Kuriakose of Congress, from the Idukki constituency in Kerala, tops the list with 204 criminal cases against himself, including culpable homicide, home invasion, theft and theft. of criminal intimidation.

The BJP has faced controversy over the candidacy of Pragya Singh Thakur, currently on trial for alleged terrorism, as a Bhopal candidate, Madhya Pradesh. Thakur won the elections to become a parliamentarian.

While 30 winners face attempted murder charges, 19 are involved in crimes against women and 29 are hate speeches.