Candidates with serious criminal cases against them has also seen an uptick. About 1,070 have declared serious crimes against their names such as rape, murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping. Of the 126, nine have declared cases related to rape. According to the report, 95 aspirants had declared cases related to hate speech against their names. The report also found that 677 political parties are contesting in Lok Sabha elections this year, more than 200 parties from the last elections.

Source: The Telegraph May 14, 2019 19:18 UTC