BENGALURU: Of the winning candidates in Karnataka, 122 (55 per cent) had declared criminal cases filed against them, said the recently-released Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report.
The percentage of candidates winning with criminal cases saw a rise from 35 per cent in the 2018 assembly elections, to 55 per cent in 2023. The Congress, that won 135 seats, topped the list, with 78 winning candidates having declared criminal cases, followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (34) and Janata Dal (Secular) (9). Further, 71 of the 122 candidates had declared serious criminal cases, like rape and attempt to murder.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar, who is aspiring for the post of chief minister, topped the list with the highest assets (over Rs 1,413 crore) along with 19 criminal cases filed against him, including bribery, false evidence, causing disappearance of evidence and criminal conspiracy, the Association for Democratic Reforms release stated.
According to the report, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, who is also a candidate for the CM’s post, has 13 criminal cases against him, which include bribery, undue influence in elections, rioting and being armed with deadly weapons.
Narayana A, of the School of Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University (APU), explained, “For political parties, winnability is a significant criteria during selection, even if it is at the cost of fielding candidates with criminal records. Usually, such candidates also have muscle power and financial backing, which becomes a significant reason for choosing them as prospective candidates.”
Professor Trilochan Sastry from IIM-Bangalore, founder member of National Election Watch, ADR, said voters are also at fault for choosing such candidates. “Usually, citizens are ill-informed about candidates from their constituencies, and do not research their political and criminal backgrounds.”
The ADR report also analysed that of those analysed, 97 per cent were crorepatis. Rajendra Chenni, a political analyst, also said, “money” is the most important “winnability” factor for political parties and they easily tend to ignore the ethical aspects while choosing candidates. Such people eventually build strong local clout and gain popularity by distributing freebies or personally interfering in local matters
