NE states maintain clean slate in Lok Sabha Phase I candidate criminal records: ADR report

In the wake of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Phase I, a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) throws  light on the prevalence of candidates with self-declared criminal cases across various states. While some regions struggle with a significant proportion of such candidates, the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura stand out for their notably low figures.

According to the ADR report, out of the 35 candidates analyzed in Assam, only 5 have declared criminal cases against themselves, accounting for 14% of the total. Among these, 3 candidates face serious criminal charges, representing 9% of the pool. Similarly, Meghalaya and Tripura, with 10 and 9 candidates respectively, demonstrate a higher moral ground, with 3 (30%) and 1 (11%) candidates respectively having declared criminal cases against them. Nagaland, with only 3 candidates analyzed, also shows a low figure of 1 (33%) candidate with a self-declared criminal case.

Comparatively, these figures depict a stark contrast to other states where the percentage of candidates with self-declared criminal cases is considerably higher. For instance, Uttar Pradesh, with 80 candidates analyzed, has 28 (35%) candidates with criminal cases against them, and Bihar with 38 candidates analyzed, has 11 (29%) such candidates.