A joint report of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Odisha Election Watch has revealed that 348 candidates out of the 1283 candidates who are contesting the ongoing Assembly election in Odisha face criminal cases.
The report reveals that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), among all the major political parties in the state, has fielded the highest number of candidates facing various different criminal cases.
As per the report, a staggering 68 per cent of BJP’s candidates (100 out of 147) have criminal cases against them. Meanwhile, the report claims that 58 per cent of candidates fielded by the BJP are facing serious criminal charges including kidnap, assault, rape, murder and Offence for which the maximum punishment is of 5 years or more etc.
Similarly, 41 per cent (60 of the 145) candidates of Congress have declared criminal cases against them. The ruling Biju Janata Dal has fielded 46 (31 per cent) of the 147 candidates facing criminal charges.
“The role of money power in our elections is evident from the fact that all major political parties give tickets to wealthy candidates. Among the major parties 128 (87 per cent) out of 147 candidates analysed from BJD, 96 (65 per cent) out of 147 candidates analysed from BJP, 88 (61 per cent) out of 145 candidates analysed from INC and 11 (27 per cent) out of 41 candidates analysed from AAP have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore,” reads the report.
