Half of Telangana MLAs face serious criminal cases

livemint.com:

₹5 crore or more, a Mint analysis of data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) showed. Both shares have seen an increase since the previous election in these states. Among the five states, Telangana had the highest prevalence of legislators facing criminal cases, with 82 out of 119 having this dubious distinction, up from 73 in 2018.

Among them, 59 (or 50%) faced “serious" cases (those involving non-bailable charges, or those punishable with five years or more, or offences such as murder, attempt to murder, rape, etc). The state is one of just four where the share of MLAs facing serious criminal cases exceeds the 40% mark, the others being Delhi (53%), Bihar (51%) and Jharkhand (42%). As many as 52 of the 64 MLAs of the winning party, Congress, have cases against them.

The data is based on declarations made by candidates in their affidavits while filing their nominations ahead of the polls. Facing a criminal case does not imply criminality, as it’s common to face bogus cases filed by political rivals. A similar Plain Facts analysis in 2022, covering over 122,000 candidates from the period 2008–2022 had shown that over 26% of the candidates of the top parties in state-level polls had declared criminal cases against them, and the share had risen to nearly one-in-three since 2018.

Candidates facing criminal charges were more successful in winning since they likely belong to larger parties that are more prone to vendetta-related bogus cases. As many as 87% of the MLAs elected across the five states are crorepatis, a sharp increase from 82% in 2018. The share of those worth ₹5 crore or more increased from 33% to 45%.