Criminal charges no barrier to standing in India’s election

NEW DELHI // Almost 10 per cent of candidates in the first phase of India’s general election face charges ranging from attempted murder to rape, reflecting the country’s problem of criminals in politics.

Of the 64 candidates contesting the election in two states, six have declared in affidavits to the election commission that they face criminal cases, including for cheating and dishonesty, advocacy groups said on Thursday.

The candidates are contesting seats in the remote north-east states of Assam and Tripura, which head to the polls on April 7 in the first stage of the world’s biggest election.

The six candidates, mostly from small, regional parties or independents, have been charged but not convicted of the crimes levelled against them and are therefore still eligible to run.

The analysis of the affidavits is the latest from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch, two groups pushing for better governance.

Earlier this month, they said 37 per cent of candidates from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party announced so far nationally have criminal cases pending, and 25 per cent from the ruling Congress party.

Jagdeep Chhokar of the ADR said the figures were just the tip of the iceberg, with many more politicians expected to file similar affidavits.

“I expect the national figures will be about 30 per cent of candidates. I feel very queasy about these figures. Society deserves and wants higher standards,” he said.

India’s politicians have long come under fire for their sometimes dubious backgrounds. A former chief minister of Bihar was allowed to continue governing his state while his corruption case dragged on for years.

Lalu Prasad was convicted and barred from office last year although the popular politician is still playing a role in the polls as head of a regional party.

An ADR survey last year found nearly one third of MPs in the nation’s 543-member lower house of parliament, and an almost equal number of state legislators, had criminal cases against them.

Cleaning up Indian politics is an issue at this election, led by political upstart and anti-graft campaigner Arvind Kejriwal, whose party is tapping into voter anger over government corruption.

The issue of convicted MPs made national headlines last July when the supreme court ruled it was illegal for politicians found guilty of serious crimes to continue to hold office simply by filing an appeal against their conviction.

In a major embarrassment, the Congress-led government was forced to reverse its plans to overturn that ruling after the party’s number two, Rahul Gandhi, branded the move “complete nonsense”.

Commentators said Mr Gandhi supported the court’s ruling after the Congress government, embroiled in a string of corruption scandals, appeared weak on the issue ahead of the general election.

* Agence France-Presse