25 % of candidates in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections face criminal charges against them. PM Narendra Modi to address rallies in the state
Many of us have often heard the term Criminalization of Politics after our teachers use it in schools and colleges, but we are often unsure what it means. The term implies that those candidates who have a criminal background participate in elections and ultimately get appointed as the people’s representative in State Assemblies and the Parliament. Â
With the Punjab Assembly Elections around the corner, candidates are often under high scrutiny from various media outlets around the country and the opposition party members who question them in every way possible. In this regard, it has been found that 25% of candidates in contention for the 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly are facing criminal cases and 57 constituencies have three or more candidates with criminal charges. Â
The report was published by the Association of Democratic Reform and Punjab Election Watch on Friday, February 11. ADR had analyzed 1276 out of 1304 affidavits submitted by the candidates to the Election Commission of India.
It was said that they could not go through the affidavits of the rest 28 candidates because their affidavits were poorly scanned, and the candidates had not uploaded complete details to the Election Commission.
It was noted that 60 out of 96 candidates who have serious allegations against them belong to Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD), and 27 out of 117 candidates belong to AAP. BJP and Congress were not lacking much behind in this category as well.
In 2017 the number of candidates who had criminal cases against them was only 9 % compared to the current scenario. Out of the 25% candidates, 15 candidates have cases regarding crime against women, out of which 2 candidates have declared cases including the rape of women against them. And, thirty-one candidates reported cases involving attempted murder. Â
 The survey conducted by ADR and Punjab Election Watch (PEW) has also shown that the share of the “crorepatis” among the candidates had also increased from 37% in the year 2017 to 42%. On average, the assets owned by the candidates were around 4.31 crore, according to estimates.
Among these Aam Aadmi Party’s candidates from Mohali seat, Kulwant Singh has declared 238 crores worth of assets, followed by Sukhbir Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had registered 202 crores in assets. PEW had also disclosed that more than half of the candidates contesting for elections were educated till class 12. Out of 695 candidates analyzed, 483 had a graduate degree or above. Â
 Moving forward, PM Modi is supposed to address the people of Punjab in public rallies on February 14 16,17 in Jalandhar, Pathankot, Abohar, respectively. Speculations have started on whether farmers would attend the meeting, rumors have circulated that farmers’ unions are planning on boycotting the session.
PM is expected to travel by air on the selected dates owing to the lapse in security last month where the PM convoy was stopped for 20 mins. BJP and its allies had also released its election manifesto in Jalandhar on Saturday, February 12. Â
Further updates regarding the elections are still awaited.Â
Published By – Pawan Rajput
Edited By – Mahi Gupta
