NEW DELHI: Out of 883 candidates contesting the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, 324 (38%) have declared criminal cases, including 201 (23%) facing serious charges, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).The data from the affidavits submitted by candidates to the Election Commission of India as part of the nomination process shows that candidates with criminal cases are spread across party lines. Among major parties, 72 out of 85 Congress candidates, 59 out of 93 BJP candidates, and 51 out of 77 CPM candidates have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
324 of 883 candidates have criminal cases registered against them.
The report also flagged a large number of “red alert” constituencies in the state. Out of 140 seats, 59 constituencies (42%) have three or more candidates with declared criminal cases, indicating a high concentration of such candidates in several key areas.In total, 863 candidates were analyzed by ADR out of 883 contesting candidates. The remaining candidates could not be assessed due to incomplete or unclear affidavits.The report also highlighted that the trend had remained unchanged compared to previous elections, showing little improvement in candidate selection practices. Political parties continue to field candidates with criminal backgrounds despite Supreme Court directions on transparency.Meanwhile, an analysis by two NGOs, including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch, into criminal, financial, and other background details showed that 70% of incumbent MLAs in the Kerala assembly have self-declared the criminal cases against them.Kerala legislative assembly elections are scheduled to be held on Thursday, April 9, with the counting scheduled for May 4.
