Punjab Poll: 19/218 candidates with criminal records

NI Wire

New Delhi

Mon, 04 May 2009: 

As Punjab is heading for Lok Sabha elections in two phases – on May 7 and May 13 – the Punjab Election Watch has released a report on contestants’ profile. In all the 13 parliamentary constituencies there will be a direct fight between the opposition Congress and the ruling SAD-BJP combine.

According to the National Election Watch (NEW), a congregation of nearly 1200 NGOs across the country, there are 19 candidates out of total 218 who have criminal records, which is about 8.

7%. This is well below the national average of about 15.5% based on about 6700 affidavits analysed so far all over India.

This time, there are 13 female candidates out of 218 which is about 6%. Besides, there are 49 crorepatis (22.5% of 218) of which BJP tops the list with average assets per candidate at 17.2 crores compared to Congress-9.6 crores and SAD-9.1 crores.

Among the candidates with criminal history, BJP, LJP and SAD (M) have one candidate each with serious criminal cases against them. Bathinda, Patiala and Amritsar are declared red alert constituencies where 3 candidates each with criminal charges are in the fray.

In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, SAD bagged eight seats, while BJP and Congress only obtained three and two seats, respectively. The Akali Dal taking the success of their alliance with BJP in the last (2007) assembly elections, where the Akali got 48 seats and BJP 19 in comparison to Congress 44, would like to retain the power with the development issues.

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu (BJP), Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans on SAD ticket, Bollywood actor and BJP contestant Vinod Khanna, former governor of Punjab and Lt. Gen (retired) B K N Chhibber on BSP ticket, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari from Ludhiana, Raninder Singh, the son of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Harsimrat Kaur daughter-in-law of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal are among some of the high profile candidates on the poll fray.