Fourth phase polling in UP: 36 nominees have criminal records

Lucknow, Apr 23: Of the 233

contesting the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in

, as many as 36 have

records and 73 are 'crorepatis'.

This was claimed in the fresh release of Association for Democratic Reform (ADR) and Uttar Pradesh Election Watch which was released here today.

Regional Coordinator of ADR Sanjay Singh said that of 233 candidates in fray, the affidavits of 232 were analysed and it was revealed that 36 candidates that was 16 per cent were having criminal records.

He said that 25 which meant 11 per cent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against them, which include murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping. Samajwadi Party has fielded 13 candidates in this phase of which nine are having criminal records.

The SP is followed by BJP with seven out of 14 candidates, BSP five of 14, Congress four of 15 and Aam Aadmi Party with one out of 12 candidates having criminal records.

Singh said that of 232 candidates in fray for the fourth phase 73, which meant 21 per cent were crorepatis. He said that the average assets of 15 Congress candidates were Rs 7.84 crore, whereas that of 14 of BJP were Rs 3.04 crore.

Among the BSP candidates the average assets were Rs 6.14 crore, SP Rs 6.05 lakh and AAP Rs 3.32 crore. Maximum assets of Rs 63.60 crore have been declared by Congress candidate from Unnao Anu Tandon, who was followed by BSP candidate from Jhansi Anuradha Sharma with assets worth Rs 31.63 crore.

AAP candidate for Lucknow seat and bollywood actor Javed Jaffrey has assets of Rs 26.65 crore. Shiv Sena candidate from Jhansi Sunil Massey has declared minimum assets of more than Rs 3000. Polling for the fourth phase is scheduled on April 30.

PTI