67 Newly Elected Odisha MLAs Face Criminal Charges, States ADR Report

Bhubaneswar: As per a report by the polls rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released on Friday, 67 newly elected MLAs in Odisha out of the total 147 are facing serious criminal charges.

As many as 67 (46 per cent) winning candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in 2024 polls. In 2019 Assembly elections, 49 (34 per cent) MLAs had declared serious criminal cases against themselves, the report said.

A total 55 (71%) out of 78 winning candidates from BJP, 15 (29%) out of 51 winning candidates from BJD, 11 (79%) out of 14 winning candidates from Congress, 1 (100%) winning candidate of CPI (M) and 3 (100%) Independent winning candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

As many as 46 (59%) out of 78 winning candidates from the BJP, 12 (24%) out of 51 winning candidates from BJD, 5 (36%) out of 14 Winning candidates from INC, 1 (100%) winning candidate of CPI (M) and 3 (100%) Independent winning candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, ADR stated in the report.

In the Assembly elections in Odisha, the BJP routed the ruling BJD by winning in 78 of the 147 Assembly seats, while the BJD managed to win in 51 seats. The Congress got 14 seats and the CPI-M secured one. Three Independent candidates managed to register wins.