The NGO working on electoral reforms analysed the affidavits of 291 out of the 294 candidates contesting the 30 seats in the elections scheduled for April 9. The results will be out on May 4.
Out of the 294 contesting candidates, 34 are from national parties, 63 from state parties, 80 from registered unrecognised parties, while 117 are Independents.
The report said 66 candidates (23 per cent) have declared criminal cases against their names, compared to 54 (17 per cent) out of 323 candidates in 2021.
Of the 66, 38 (13 per cent) face serious criminal cases, compared to 28 (9 per cent) in 2021.
Among the major parties, 3 out of 21 candidates from the Congress, 4 out of 16 from the All India NR Congress (AINR), 6 out of 12 from the DMK, and 5 out of 10 candidates from the BJP have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
While 3 candidates face cases related to crime against women, 2 have been named in murder cases under IPC Section 302.”The major political parties have given tickets to 14-50 per cent candidates who face criminal cases,” the report said.
Notably, a Supreme Court order dated February 13, 2020, had instructed political parties to furnish reasons for selecting candidates with criminal records over those with no criminal antecedents.
The ADR said that in two state polls held in 2025, it was observed that political parties provided “unfounded” and “baseless” reasons, such as the “popularity” of the nominee, “record of social work”, “cases were politically motivated”, etc., to justify their selections.
“These are not sound and cogent reasons for fielding candidates with tainted backgrounds. This data clearly shows that political parties have no interest in reforming the electoral system, and our democracy will continue to suffer at the hands of lawbreakers who become lawmakers,” the ADR said.
On the financial status of the candidates, the report said 119 (41 per cent) nominees are crorepatis, compared to 74 (23 per cent) out of 323 in 2021.
“The role of money power in elections is evident from the fact that all major political parties gave tickets to wealthy candidates,” the ADR said.
Among the major parties, 17 out of 21 Congress candidates, 16 out of 16 AINR nominees, 11 out of 12 DMK candidates, and all 10 nominees of the BJP have declared assets valued at more than Rs 1 crore.
The total assets of 291 candidates stood at Rs 2,099 crore, an average of Rs 7.21 crore per nominee, the report said.
