Out of 615 candidates in the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections a total of 156, or 25 per cent, have declared criminal cases against themselves, as per the latest report by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report has also revealed that there are 15 illiterate candidates in the fray.
The 228-page report has analysed criminal background, financial, education, gender and other details from the self-sworn affidavits of 615 candidates out of 623 who are contesting in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections Phase I, to be held in 58 constituencies spanning 11 districts on 10 February.
Let’s take a look at some important numbers revealed by the ADR report for UP Phase 1 elections:
Criminal Background
– While 156 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, a total of 121 are facing serious charges.
– At least 12 candidates are booked for cases related to crime against women and out of these 12, one candidate — RLD's Mohammad Yunus contesting from Bulandshahr, has declared cases related to rape (IPC Section-376).
– There are six candidates who have murder charges (IPC Section-302) against them. Another 30 candidates have declared cases related to ‘attempt to murder’ (IPC Section-307) against themselves.
– The report shows that 53 per cent (31) of the 58 constituencies going for polls in the first phase are Red Alert constituencies.Red alert constituencies are those where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
– Samajwadi Party (SP) came on top when it comes to candidates with criminal background. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party is contesting 21 (75 per cent) out of 28 candidates with a criminal background, 17 of these have serious criminal cases against them.
– Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) is fielding 17 (59 per cent) out of 29 candidates with a criminal background. RLD’s 15 candidates have serious charges filed against them.
– A total of 29 (51 per cent) out of the BJP’s 57 candidates have criminal cases against them. 22 of the BJP candidates have declared serious criminal cases against them.
– While INC has 21 (36 per cent) out of 58 candidates with a criminal background, BSP has 19 (34 per cent) such candidates. Both the parties have 11 and 16 candidates with serious criminal charges against them, respectively.
– The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded a total of 52 candidates, eight of which have criminal cases against them. AAP’s five candidates have serious criminal charges.
Educational qualifications
– The ADR report has revealed that 239 candidates have educational qualifications between Classes 5 and 12.
– A total of 304 candidates are graduates or above.
– While seven candidates are diploma holders, 38 candidates have declared themselves to be just literate.
– A total of 15 candidates have declared themselves to be Illiterates and 12 candidates have not given their educational qualification.
Financial Assets
– As per the report, out of the 615 candidates analysed, 280 (46 per cent) are crorepatis.
– At least 97 per cent of the candidates from BJP and RLD are crorepatis.
– BJP’s Amit Agarwal, who is contesting from Meerut Cantt, has the highest declared assets with assets worth more than Rs 148 crore..
– The average of assets per candidate contesting in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022 Phase I is Rs 3.72 Crores.
– “Among the major parties 28 (97 per cent) out of 29 candidates analysed from RLD, 55 (97 per cent) out of 57 candidates analysed from BJP, 50 (89 per cent) out of 56 candidates analysed from BSP, 23 (82 per cent) out of 28 candidates analysed from SP, 32(55 per cent) out of 58 candidates analysed from INC and 22 (42 per cent) out of 52 candidates analysed from AAP have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore,” the report added.