137 face criminal charges in Phase 1

Ahmedabad, Dec. 1: An analysis of the affidavits of 923 candidates, out of the total 977 in fray for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, showed that 137 candidates, accounting for around 15 per cent, were facing criminal cases, including serious charges such as murder, kidnapping and rape, according to two NGOs.

The analysis has been carried out by the NGOs — Association for Democratic Reforms ( ADR) and Gujarat Election Watch.

It also showed that 78 of the 137 nominees are facing serious criminal cases.

A party- wise analysis found that 10 out of 89 BJP candidates were facing serious criminal charges, while the Congress gave tickets to as many as 20 such candidates for the first phase of the polls, the report of the NGOs said on Friday.

These main political rivals were followed by eight candidates from the

◗ The analysis by 2 NGOs found that 10 out of 89 BJP candidates were facing serious criminal charges, while the Cong gave tickets to as many as 20 such candidates

BSP, three from the NCP and one from the Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP), it said.

“Though 977 candidates are in the fray for the 89 Assembly seats going to polls in the first phase on December 9, affidavits of 54 candidates could not be analysed as they were either badly scanned or incomplete,” Pankti Jog of Gujarat Election Watch told reporters here.

The analysis said that 137 candidates, out of 923 ( 15 per cent), have declared criminal cases against them.