This municipal elections, all political parties are going in ‘clean’, or at least so they claim. The Association for Democratic Reforms on Tuesday listed the criminal cases against candidates in the fray for the post of councillors.
Out of 211, BJP has 39 candidates (18 per cent) who have criminal cases against them. Congress has 28 candidates out of 207 (14 per cent), BSP has 19 out of 214 (14 per cent) and Samajwadi Party has 4 out 77 (5 per cent).
Out of the total 1,485 candidates analysed, 9 per cent have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
According to the report, 43 candidates have declared serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, robbery and extortion. In this category, BJP has 11 candidates, Congress has 10, BSP has five, SP has two, CPM has one and NCP has one.
One of the candidates who has declared criminal cases against him is Meghraj Chandela, Congress candidate from Vishnu Garden. These are charges related to voluntarily causing grievous hurt, charges related to attempt to murder, among others. Chandela said, “The cases are a conspiracy against me. If a man falls from a roof how can I be held guilty? The cases in which I was convicted had been suspended by HC.”
Shoeb Danish from Congress has charges like attempt to murder, rioting, assault and criminal intimidation, cheating and dishonesty against him. “I have been falsely implicated,” he said.
Similarly, Anil Kumar Sharma, BJP candidate from Nanakpura, who has against him charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt, said, “It was a case when we showed black flags to Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit.”