Odisha elections: 91 nominees declare criminal records against themselves

Of the 279 candidates in fray for five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly segments of Odisha, 91 nominees of different political parties have declared criminal records against themselves, a report said. Seven of the 35 Lok Sabha candidates and 84 of the 244 assembly contestants have shown in their affidavits of having criminal records, the Odisha Election Watch said in a report.

The Odisha Election Watch is a part of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an organisation that work for electoral reforms. The polling in these five Lok Sabha and 35 assembly segments will be held in the second phase polls on April 18. Out of 35 candidates Lok Sabha candidates, seven (20 per cent) have criminal cases against them and five (14 per cent) face serious criminal cases, said Odisha Election Watch convenor Ranjan Mohanty. Similarly, out of 244 assembly candidates, 84 (35 per cent) candidates have criminal cases and 68 (28 per cent) have serious criminal charges against them, he said.

To a question, Mohanty said the offences for which the punishment is 5 years' imprisonment or above are considered "serious criminal cases". Of the assembly candidates having criminal background, 21 belong to the BJP, 17 are from the Congress, 13 from the BJD, and 4 from the BSP, the report said. Besides, 18 BJP assembly candidates, 10 Congress nominees, 11 BJD contestants, and 4 BSP candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. The report said that there are 14 assembly segments identified as Red Alert Constituencies in Phase-II where three or more candidates have criminal cases against them.

 

(With inputs from agencies.)