34% of winners in Lok Sabha 2014 have criminal charges against them
The results are out. The winners of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections have been declared. The people have made their decision.
However, from among the leaders who will shape the future of the country, almost one-third have criminal cases filed against them. That is, 186 (34%) out of the 541 winners whose details were analyzed by the Association of Democratic Reforms. This is a jump from the numbers for the 2009 elections, when, out of the 521 winners analyzed, 158 (30%) had declared criminal cases.
If you were to look at the data through the party-wise lens, the picture remains grim. 98 (35%) out of 281 winners analyzed from the BJP, 8 (18%) out of 44 winners from the Congress, 6 (16%) out of 37 winners from the AIADMK, 15 (83%) out of 18 winners from the Shiv Sena and 7 (21%) out of 34 winners from the AITC have been charged with criminal cases.
Given this scenario, it is imperative that we continue the struggle for the decriminalization of politics at every level of government.