NEW DELHI: In Gujarat's first phase of elections in 89 constituencies, 21 have three or more candidates with criminal cases registered against them. Of 923 candidates - out of a total of 977 - 137 or 15 percent face criminal cases, including serious charges such as murder, kidnapping and rape. This was revealed in an analysis carried out by non-profit organisation, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Gujarat Election Watch.It also showed that 78 of the 137 nominees are facing serious criminal cases. A party-wise analysis found that 10 out of 89 BJP candidates were facing serious criminal charges, while the Congress gave tickets to as many as 20 such candidates for the first phase of the polls. Eight candidates were facing attempt to murder charge while three had been accused of kidnapping.

Source: Times of India December 01, 2017 16:18 UTC