NEW DELHI: Of the 70 political parties in the fray for the February 7 Delhi assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded the maximum number of candidates - 27 - who have criminal cases against them, said Delhi Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms Friday.
The BJP also tops the list in the category of serious criminal cases, with 17 of 69 party candidates analysed, said the think tank. The party is contesting on all 70 seats.
Of the total 673 candidates contesting the elections, 114 candidates or 17 percent face criminal cases. Seventy-four of these 114 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
The BJP is followed by the AAP, which has 23 candidates charged with criminal activities, while 11 have been slapped with serious crime cases.
Of the 70 candidates fielded by the Congress, 21 are facing criminal cases and 11 have been charged with serious criminal cases.
In the 2013 assembly polls, of the 796 candidates analysed, 130 candidates had declared criminal cases against themselves. Ninety-four candidates had cases of serious crimes against them.