Twenty-three percent, or 159 out of the 695 candidates contesting the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20 have declared criminal cases against themselves, non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms said in a report on Sunday.

The Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 695 candidates, who are contesting the polls in the fifth phase in eight states and Union territories.

Polling will take place in Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The report found that 18%, or 122 out of 695 candidates, have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

The poll watchdog classified serious criminal offences as those that have a maximum punishment of five years or more, are non-bailable, or related to loss to exchequer. Serious offences also include assault, murder, kidnap, rape related, or those mentioned in the Representation of the People Act. They also include offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and crimes against women.

Three candidates in the fifth phase have declared cases where they have been convicted, according to the report. Four candidates have declared cases related to murder against themselves. While 28 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder, 10 have declared cases related to hate speech against themselves.

In the fifth phase, 29 out of the 695 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. One of them has declared a charge related to rape in his affidavit, the analysis found.

Among the major parties, five out of the ten candidates from the Samajwadi Party, three out of six candidates from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction and two out of four candidates from Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen have serious criminal cases against them, according to the analysis.

Nineteen out of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 40 candidates, eight out of 18 candidates of the Congress and three out of seven candidates of the Trinamool Congress have criminal cases.

Three out of eight candidates of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, one out of four candidates from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and one out of five candidates from the Biju Janata Dal have declared criminal cases against themselves.

The report found that 26 out of the 49 constituencies going to polls in the fifth phase are “red alert” constituencies, where three or more candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Assets analysis

The election watchdog’s report also showed that 227, or 33%, of the 695 candidates, have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

All 10 candidates from the Samajwadi Party, all six from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, all four candidates of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and both candidates of Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party faction have declared assets of more than Rs 1 crore.

Meanwhile, 36 out of the 40 candidates from the BJP, seven out of the eight candidates from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction, six out of the seven candidates of the Trinamool Congress and 15 out of 18 candidates of the Congress have declared assets more than Rs 1 crore.

Four out of the five candidates from the Biju Janata Dal and two out of the four candidates analysed from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen own assets worth more than Rs 1 crore.

The three richest candidates in the fifth phase are: BJP’s Anurag Sharma from Uttar Pradesh owning assets worth more than Rs 212 crore, followed by independent candidate Nilesh Bhagwan Sambare from Maharashtra with assets worth more than Rs 116 crore.

Union minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal, who is contesting from the Mumbai North seat, is the third-richest candidate with assets worth more than Rs 110 crore, the analysis found.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Sultan Ganaie contesting from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla has the lowest declared assets at Rs 67.