According to ADR, which analysed affidavits of 58 candidates, 13 candidates have declared criminal cases against them and 12 of them are facing serious charges.
Of the 59 contestants in Jharkhand which votes for the first time on April 29 in Lok Sabha elections, 33% are crorepati candidates while 22% contestants face criminal charges, according to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of the candidates.
The three constituencies going to polls on April 29 are Chatra, Lohardaga and and Palamau.
According to ADR, which analysed affidavits of 58 candidates, 13 candidates have declared criminal cases against them and 12 of them are facing serious charges.
Among major political parties, two RJD and one Congress candidates have declared criminal cases against them in their affidavits. However, no BJP candidate, contesting the first phase polls, is in the list.
Out of three constituencies, Palamau has the highest number of candidates with criminal cases. Of the 19 candidates in the poll fray from the constituency, six are facing criminal charges. RJD candidate from the constituency, Ghuran Ram is leading the chart with five criminal cases against him.
This was followed by Chatra Lok Sabha seat where six candidates out of 26 have declared criminal cases against them. Here also RJD candidate Subhash Prasad Yadav leads the chart with three cases. Of the 14, three candidates including Congress’s Sukhdeo Bhagat have declared criminal charges against them from Lohardaga.
In the first phase of LS polls in the state, 19 croreparti candidates are in fray from the three constituencies. Chatra has the highest number of richest candidates where nine crorepati candidates are fighting, which is followed by Palamau with seven crorepati candidates and Lohardaga with three crorepati candidates.
BJP’s Chatra candidate, Sunil Kumar Singh, is the richest candidate in the phase. Singh has declared his total assets of Rs 22.62 crore. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Nageshwar Ganjhu from the same constituency is the second richest candidate with having total assets of Rs 10.11 crore. An independent candidate Rajendra Sahu is the third richest candidate with total assets of Rs 8.49 crore in Chatra parliamentary constituency.
Jorawar Ram, an independent candidate, is the richest candidate from Palamau constituency with total assets of Rs 2.27 crore, while Jharkhand Party’s (JP) Dev Kumar Dhan is the richest candidate from Lohardaga constituency with total assets of Rs 2.26 crore.
“All information either of criminal cases or financial backgrounds have been provided by the candidates themselves in their self-sworn affidavits for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We have just compiled the details so that people could understand their candidates properly,” said Sudhir Pal, Jharkhand coordinator of ADR.