Seventeen out of the 90 newly elected members of the Chhattisgarh assembly have disclosed criminal cases against themselves, with six of them facing serious charges such as voluntary causing hurt and criminal intimidation. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, securing 54 seats. The Congress, which held 68 seats in 2018, saw a reduction to 35 seats, while the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) won in one constituency. Notably, the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), founded by late Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, and the Bahujan Samaj Party failed to secure any seats.
According to a report by non-profit organizations Chhattisgarh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), approximately 19 percent of the newly elected MLAs have declared criminal cases in their poll affidavits. Of this group, 7 percent face serious criminal charges. The report highlights that 22 percent of BJP’s 54 MLAs and 14 percent of Congress’s 35 MLAs have declared criminal cases. Additionally, 7 percent of BJP’s MLAs and 6 percent of Congress’s MLAs have serious criminal cases against them.
The report identifies key figures, including outgoing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress winners Devendra Yadav and Atal Shrivastav, and BJP’s Rajesh Munat and Dayaldas Baghel, among others, facing criminal cases. In comparison, the 2018 elections witnessed 27 percent of elected MLAs with declared criminal cases, including 14 percent facing serious charges.
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