While candidates anyway have to declare pending cases against them, parties were earlier not required to justify giving tickets to those facing criminal charges. Traditionally, most parties have primarily two justifications for selecting candidates facing criminal cases: One, winnability; and two, the cases are politically motivated. In Delhi, five of the eight (BJP) MLAs elected two days ago face criminal charges. Of the 539 MPs, 233 — 43 per cent — have criminal charges. Spokesperson Shergill said: “The percentage of BJP candidates with criminal cases was 45, while such candidates in the Congress were 20 per cent.

Source: The Telegraph February 13, 2020 20:44 UTC