36 Of 70 AAP Candidates Have Serious Criminal Cases: Report

A total of 104 candidates in the Delhi Assembly elections have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, up from 74 in 2015 polls, with highest from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party which has 36 nominees with serious charges, according to election watchdog ADR.

The report by the Delhi Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) also said that out of 672 candidates analysed, 133 (20 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

"In 2015 Delhi Assembly polls, out of the 673 candidates analysed, 114 (17 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves," the ADR said.

The report said among major parties, 42 (60 per cent) out of 70 candidates analysed from AAP, 26 (39 per cent) out of 67 candidates analysed from BJP and 18 (27 per cent) out of 66 candidates analysed from the Congress are having criminal cases.

"A total of 12 (18 per cent) out of 66 candidates analysed from BSP and three (60 per cent) out of five candidates from the NCP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," the ADR said.

In terms of declared serious criminal cases, the AAP topped the list with 36 of the 70 candidates having serious criminal cases.

"A total of 17 (25 per cent) out of 67 candidates analysed from BJP, 13 (20 per cent) out of 66 candidates analysed from Congress and 10 (15 per cent) out of 66 candidates analysed from BSP have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," the ADR added.

Out of the five NCP candidates, two have serious criminal cases.

Among the candidates with criminal cases, 32 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women.

"Out of 32, one candidate has declared cases related to rape (IPC Section-376)," the ADR said.

At least four candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder and 20 candidates have declared conviction cases against themselves.

Congress' Jai Kishan (Sultanpur Majra), Amrish Singh Gautam (Kondali), J.S. Nayol (Shalimar Bagh), Mirza Javed Ali (Matia Mahal) have declared conviction cases against themselves.

AAP's Prakash Jarwal (Deoli), Gulab Singh (Matiala), Sahi Ram Pehelwan (Tugalakabad), Naveen Chaudhary (Gandhi Nagar), Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar), Dinesh Mohaniya (Sangam Vihar), Pramila Tokas (R.K. Puram), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar) and Ram Niwas Goel (Shahdara) have declared conviction cases against themselves.

From BJP, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (Hari Nagar), Jitender Mahajan (Rohtas Nagar), Kailash Sankla (Madipur), Ashish Sood (Janakpuri) and Arvind Kumar (Deoli) have declared conviction cases against themselves.

A total of eight candidates have declared cases related to hate speech, with four from AAP including Amanatullah Khan (Okhla), Somnath Bharti (Malviya Nagar), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli) and Dilip Pandey (Timarpur).

BJP's only candidate with cases related to hate speech is Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga. Jai Kishan from Congress is also having cases related to hate speech.

The report also said that 25 (36 per cent) out of the 70 constituencies are 'Red alert' constituencies.

The 'red alert' constituencies are those where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Polls are due in Delhi on February 8 with AAP, BJP and Congress as main contenders.