21% Ph-4 candidates have criminal cases

With ₹ 5,700cr in assets, TDP’s Pemmasani is richest in fray

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in its latest report revealed that out of the 1,710 candidates contesting in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls, a total of 360 have declared criminal cases against themselves and 24 candidates have declared zero assets.

The findings have come up after a thorough analysis of the self-sworn affidavits of 1,710 out of 1,717 candidates, who are contesting in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase IV on May 13, the ADR and The National Election Watch said.

Emphasising the disparities amongst the financial backgrounds of the candidates with the richest candidate in the fray is Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani of Telugu Desam Party with assets over `5,700 crores.

Among the 360 candidates (21 per cent) with criminal cases, 17 candidates were convicted, 11 declared cases related to murder, 30 face charges of attempted murder and 50 candidates have criminal cases related to crimes against women, with 5 candidates facing charges of rape, the data showed.

The findings also shed light on the distribution of candidates with criminal backgrounds across major political parties.

Among the major parties, three out of three candidates from AIMIM, two out of three candidates from Shiv Sena, 10 out of 17 candidates from BRS, 35 out of 61 candidates from Congress, 40 out of 70 candidates from BJP, nine out of 17 candidates from TDP, two out of four candidates from BJD, two out of four candidates from RJD, two out of four candidates from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), 12 out of 25 candidates from YSRCP, three out of eight candidates from All India Trinamool Congress and seven out of 19 candidates from Samajwadi Party have declared criminal cases against themselves.

In addition to criminal disclosures, the ADR report also highlighted significant diversity amongst the candidates' financial backgrounds.

A total of 476 candidates out of 1710 are crorepatis, with assets exceeding Rs one crore, with Dr Pemmasani being the richest. While 24 candidates declared zero assets, the report showed.

THE FINDINGS have come up after a thorough analysis of the selfsworn affidavits of 1,710 out of 1,717 candidates, who are contesting in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase IV on May 13