Nearly 50 per cent of the winners of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 have criminal cases registered against them, including two newly elected MPs who are facing charges of rape under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Lok Sabha elections 2024 concluded on Tuesday, June 4, with the counting of votes and results, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats, a lower than expected tally, and the Congress-led Oppositon bloc won 233 seats, defying expectations and exit polls.
According to an analysis by poll rights body Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) cited in a news agency PTI report, as many as 251 (46 per cent) of the 543 newly elected Lok Sabha members have criminal cases registered against them and 27 of them have been convicted.
Criminal Records Of Lok Sabha Election Winners
A total of 233 MPs (43 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves, 185 (34 per cent) in 2014, 162 (30 per cent) in 2009 and 125 (23 per cent) in 2004. This general election has recorded the highest number of candidates facing criminal charges to be elected to the Lower House.
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According to the analysis, there has been a 55 per cent increase in the number of MPs with declared criminal cases since 2009. Of the 251 winning candidates this year, 170 (31 per cent) face serious criminal cases, including rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women.
While 27 winning candidates have declared they have been convicted in criminal cases, four declared cases related to murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 27 declared cases related to attempt to murder under Section 307 of the IPC.
Fifteen winning candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, including two facing charges of rape under IPC Section 376. Four winning candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping and 43 have declared cases related to hate speech.
In an interesting observation, the analysis found that chances of winning for a candidate with declared criminal cases in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections stood at 15.3 per cent, compared to just 4.4 per cent for candidates with a clean background.
BJP, Congress MPs With Criminal Records
Of the 240 winning candidates of the BJP, which emerged as the largest party in the 18th Lok Sabha, 94 (39 per cent) have declared criminal cases, according to the ADR.
Congress party's 49 of 99 winning candidates have declared criminal cases and 21 (45 per cent) of the Samajwadi Party’s 37 candidates face criminal charges.
Thirteen (45 per cent) of the TMC’s 29, 13 (59 per cent) of the DMK’s 22, eight (50 per cent) of the TDP’s 16, and five (71 per cent) of the Shiv Sena’s seven winning candidates have declared criminal cases.
Sixty-three (26 per cent) BJP candidates, 32 (32 per cent) Congress candidates and 17 (46 per cent) SP candidates have declared serious criminal cases, the analysis found.
Seven (24 per cent) TMC candidates, six (27 per cent) DMK candidates, five (31 per cent) TDP candidates, and four (57 per cent) Shiv Sena candidates face serious criminal cases, it stated.
