Nearly Half of Newly Elected MPs Face Criminal Charges

New Delhi: In a concerning development, an analysis by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has revealed that a staggering 46% of the 543 newly elected members of the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament) have criminal cases registered against them. This figure, which translates to 251 MPs, represents the highest number of candidates with criminal charges to be elected to the Lok Sabha.

The analysis further highlights that 27 of these MPs have been convicted, indicating the gravity of the situation.

Compared to previous years, there has been a significant increase in the number of MPs with declared criminal cases, rising by 55% since 2009.

Alarmingly, 170 (31%) of the 251 winning candidates face serious criminal charges, including heinous crimes such as rape, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women. This marks a 124% increase in the number of MPs who have declared serious criminal cases since 2009.

Notably, 27 MPs have declared convictions, four face murder charges under IPC Section 302, and 27 are charged with attempt to murder under IPC Section 307. Fifteen MPs are accused of crimes against women, including two charged with rape under IPC Section 376. Additionally, four face kidnapping charges and 43 are accused of hate speech.

Candidates with criminal cases had a 15.3% chance of winning in the 2024 elections, compared to 4.4% for those with clean backgrounds.

Party-wise, 94 of BJP’s 240 MPs (39%) have criminal cases, followed by 49% of Congress’ 99 MPs, and 45% of Samajwadi Party’s 37 MPs. Other notable figures include TMC (45%), DMK (59%), TDP (50%), and Shiv Sena (71%).

Serious criminal cases are declared by 63 BJP MPs (26%), 32 Congress MPs (32%), 17 SP MPs (46%), 7 TMC MPs (24%), 6 DMK MPs (27%), 5 TDP MPs (31%), and 4 Shiv Sena MPs (57%).