Four Madhya Pradesh MPs have pending criminal cases

BHOPAL - Almost 10 percent of the 429 candidates who contested the 29 Lok Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh in the April-May 2009 general elections had criminal cases pending against them and four of them won the poll, an NGO said.

As many as 42 candidates had declared that they had pending criminal cases against them, according to a study of the affidavits filed by the candidates by MP (Madhya Pradesh) Election Watch, the state chapter of National Election Watch.

“Out of these 42, 26 were facing a total of 89 serious charges under the Indian Penal Code like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion etc,” the state chapter’s spokesperson Rakesh Ranjan told IANS. The four who won included two who had serious criminal charges against them.

However, the number of candidates facing criminal charges emerging victorious declined from seven in the 2004 general elections.

Another important finding of the study indicated that of the 429 contestants, 43 (slightly over 10 percent) were “crorepatis” while the average assets of those who had won the polls amounted to Rs.2.86 crore, he said.