Analysis based on affidavits submitted by the candidates prior to the 2019 Assembly elections and byelections conducted thereafter

An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) ahead of Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand shows that 60% of current legislators in Maharashtra and 49% of sitting MLAs in Jharkhand have criminal cases registered against them.

The analysis is based on the affidavits submitted by the candidates prior to the 2019 Assembly elections and byelections conducted thereafter.

In Maharashtra, out of 272 sitting MLAs analysed, 164 have declared criminal cases against themselves.

While, 2 sitting MLAs have declared criminal cases related to murder, 10 have declared cases related to attempt to murder. A total of 12 sitting MLAs have declared cases related to crimes against women.

As far as political parties are concerned, 62 (60%) out of 103 MLAs from the  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criminal cases, 25 (63%) out of 40 MLAs from Nationalist Congress Party, 22 (58%) out of 38 MLAs from Shiv Sena (Shinde), 20 (54%) out of 37 MLAs from Congress, 9 (56%) out of 16 MLAs from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), 6 (50%) out of 12 MLAs from Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), and 9 (75%) out of 12 Independent MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

In Jharkhand, out of 74 sitting MLAs analysed, 36 have declared criminal cases against themselves. Two sitting legislators have declared cases related to attempt to murder, while 6 sitting MLAs have declared cases related to attempt to murder, while two have declared cases related to crimes against women.

A total of 13 (50%) out of 26 MLAs from BJP, 12 (48%) out of 25 MLAs from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, 8 (50%) out of 16 MLAs from Congress, and 1 (33%) out of 3 MLAs from All Jharkhand Students Union have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.