65 out of 238 candidates in Phase 2 of J&K elections face criminal proceedings | News from India

SRINAGAR: 65 of 238 Candidates in the fight in the second phase of the Parliamentary elections in J&K on 25 September Criminal cases against them, with 49 facing minor cases while 16 have declared serious crimes in their election declarations. Only 3% of the candidates in this phase are women.
After an analysis of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), three candidates have reported cases of attempt to murder (IPC Section 307), while seven have reported cases related to crimes against women, with one candidate facing a charge of rape (IPC Section 376).
The party-wise list of candidates against whom charges have been filed shows that 4 out of 26 (15%) of the candidates fielded by the PDP have stated in their affidavits that criminal proceedings have been filed against them. The BJP has 4 out of 17 candidates against whom charges have been filed (24%), the Congress has 2 out of 6 (33%) and the NC has 1 out of 20 such candidates. Of the candidates against whom serious criminal proceedings have been filed, the PDP has 1 (4%), the BJP has 3 (18%), the Congress has 2 and the NC has 1 (5%).
ADR also reported that eight constituencies (31% of 26) were classified as red because three or more candidates had filed criminal complaints there.
In terms of assets, 131 (55%) of all candidates are crorepatis. All 6 Congress candidates (100%), 18 (90%) of NC, 13 (76%) of BJP and 19 (73%) of PDP have declared assets of more than Rs 1 crore.
“The role of money power in our elections is demonstrated by the fact that all major political parties vote for wealthy candidates,” ADR noted.
The average wealth per candidate in Phase 2 in Jammu and Kashmir is Rs 5.80 crore. Among major parties, the average wealth of six Congress candidates is Rs 29.39 crore, while for 20 NC candidates it is Rs 11.21 crore, for 17 BJP candidates it is Rs 11.07 crore and for 26 PDP candidates it is Rs 5.24 crore.
Syed Altaf Bukhari is the richest candidate in Phase 2 with a declared net worth of Rs 165 crore, followed by Tariq Hameed Karra (Rs 149 crore) and NC's Mushtaq Guroo (Rs 94 crore). Bukhari and Guroo are contesting from Channapora while Karra is contesting from Central Shalteng.
Regarding education, ADR reported that 117 (49%) of the candidates reported their educational level as 5th to 12th grade, while 114 (48%) have a college degree or higher. Six candidates have a diploma and one reported being illiterate.
Regarding age distribution, 84 (35%) candidates are between 25 and 40 years old, 105 (44%) are between 41 and 60 years old and 49 (21%) are between 61 and 80 years old.