CRIME & POLITICSTNN & AGENCIES 2013/07/12

The Times of India

450 ‘tainted’ [presumably, Lok Sabha] constituencies have at least 1 candidate facing criminal charges

104 seats [presumably, Lok Sabha]have 2 tainted candidates

& 56 constituencies [presumably, Lok Sabha] have more than 5 contesting tainted candidates

Voters tend to choose clean candidates. In seats where only 1 candidate had a criminal record, voters chose 83% of the clean candidates But percentage of clean candidates went down to 35% in seats with more than 5 tainted candidates

Between 2004 and 2009, number of MPs with criminal charges has risen from 128 to 162

The silver lining was number of MPs charged with rape, murder, kidnapping & extortion dipped from 296 in 2004 to 274 in 2009

2009 LS race saw tainted faces in 450 of 545 seatsHimanshi Dhawan | TNN

The Times of India 2013/07/12

New Delhi: At least one candidate with pending criminal charges was in the running in 450 of the 545 Lok Sabha constituencies during the 2009 general election. This indicates that the Supreme Court order that disqualifies candidates who’ve been convicted could have far-reaching repercussions on the electoral process.

Data analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says that 150 constituencies had a single candidate with pending criminal charges while as many as 56 constituencies had five or more candidates who were “tainted”. The study is based on affidavits submitted by candidates ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Despite the dominance of muscle-power in our legislatures, voters have shown discretion in choosing wisely. The study points out that given a choice in the

constituencies that had only one candidate with pending criminal charges, voters rejected tainted candidates, and chose 83% of the clean candidates.

The percentage of clean winners, however, drops to around 35% in constituencies with more than 5 tainted candidates.

Data provided by these politicos in their election affidavits show that 30% have criminal cases pending against them and 14% are fighting cases that fall under serious criminal offences, most with potential sentences of over five years. We aren’t talking here of any minor crimes, these MPs are accused of murder, rape, forgery, inciting hate and dubious deals: fraud and cheating.

State assemblies are no better. About 1,258 (31%) out of the 4,032 sitting MLAs from all state assemblies have declared criminal cases and 15% have declared serious criminal charges.

Among political parties, BJP leads the charge with 118 (12%) of its elected representatives having declared that they are booked under serious criminal charges. Keeping the saffron brigade company in the accusedof-serious-crime bracket is the Congres with 107 (8%) of its MPs and MLAs fighting murder, forgery, kidnap, rape charges among others.

Legislators from parties such as Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Shibu Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, and the lesser-known Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) started by ex-CM Babulal Marandi have most of their elected representatives facing criminal cases. Eight of JVM (P)’s 11 legislators are accused of criminal activities, while 77% to 80% of elected Shiv Sainiks have criminal cases against them. JMM tops, or bottoms out, this list with 80% of its elected members waiting for courts to take a call.

Looking at the data state-wise, Karnataka’s 2013 polls saw the state’s tally of tainted MPs plus MLAs at 74, while over half of Bihar assembly (58%) qualifies to be in the tainted bracket. Gujarat’s 2012 polls saw its tainted MP-MLA count reach 57, that is 31% of the total from the state. On this count, 47% of legislators from Uttar Pradesh (state polls held in 2012) have declared criminal cases, Uttarakhand (which also went to polls in 2012) has 29% elected politicos with pending criminal cases.

The only good news from states that held elections in 2012 is Mizoram, where none of the 60 elected MPs and MLAs have any criminal cases against them.

Party-wise sitting MPs & MLAs with criminal cases (2013)Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | 82%

RJD | 64%

Samajwadi Party | 48%

BJP | 31% (Out of 1,017 BJP MPs & MLAs, 313 have criminal cases)

Congres | 21% (Out of 1,433 Cong MPs & MLAs, 305 have criminal cases)

Madhya Pradesh: survey of 10 parliamentary constituencies40% of AAP candidates in Madhya Pradesh have criminal records, 30% are billionaires PTI [1] | Apr 9, 2014

BHOPAL: Strange as it may seem, 30 per cent of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh are billionaires, while 40 per cent have criminal records against them.

This was revealed in an analysis of candidates for the second phase by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and MP Election Watch (MPEW).

The ten constituencies which are set to go to polls in Madhya Pradesh during the second phase of polls on April 17 are Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Bhopal and Rajgarh.

Four out of ten of Cogress and BSP nominees have criminal records against them, while only three out of 10 BJP candidates have criminal cases filed against them.

All the 10 Congres candidates are billionaires, while eight out of 10 BJP nominees, four out of 10 BSP nominees and three out of six Samajwadi Party nominees are billionaires.

Giriraj Yadav, an independent candiate from the Guna constituency has a murder case against him, while Brindawan Singh Sikarwar, the BSP candidate from Morena has an attempt to murder case pending against him

2014: 34% MPs have criminal background; an increase of 4 percentage points

Every third newly-elected MP has criminal backgroundIANS | May 18, 2014

In 2009, 30% of the Lok Sabha members had criminal cases. This has now gone up by 4%. NEW DELHI: Every third of the newly-elected member of Lok Sabha has a criminal background, an analysis of the disclosures they have made in their affidavits has shown.

An analysis of 541 of the 543 winning candidates by National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that 186 or 34% newly elected MPs have in their election affidavits disclosed criminal cases against themselves.

In 2009, 30% of the Lok Sabha members had criminal cases. This has now gone up by 4%.

According to the analysis, a candidate with criminal cases had 13% chance of winning in the 2014 Lok Sabha election whereas it was 5% for an aspirant with a clean record.

Of the 186 new members, 112 (21%) have declared serious criminal cases, including those related to murder, attempt to murder, causing communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women, etc.

Party wise, the largest numbers 98 or 35% of the 281 winners from the BJP have in their affidavits declared criminal cases against themselves.

Eight (18%) of the 44 winners from the Congres, six (16%) of the 37 winners from the AIADMK, 15 (83%) of the 18 winners from the Shiv Sena, and seven (21%) of the 34 winners fielded by Trinamool Congres also have disclosed criminal cases against themselves.

Likelihood of elected politician to be a criminal vis-a-vis the common man1 in 30 MPs faces murder charge, for rest of India it’s only 1 in 1,061Ratio Of Netas Accused Of Crime Far Higher Than That Of Aam Admi

Atul Thakur TIG

The Times of India 2013/09/29

It’s often argued that criminalization of politics merely reflects the increasing criminalization of society. However, an analysis of data on Lok Sabha members facing criminal charges and official figures on crime in India show that the proportion of people facing such charges is way higher among members of Parliament in Lok Sabha than in the population as a whole. In fact, for a range of serious charges, the rate among LS members is anywhere between 20 and 200

times higher. TOI analysed data compiled by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) from affidavits filed by MPs at the time of elections and figures from the National Crime Records Bureau to come up with this sobering finding. (We added together cases pending police investigation and cases pending trial by courts to arrive at a cumulative number.)

Sample this: One in every 30 MPs elected in the 2009 general elections was facing charges of murder or related charges. On the other hand, in the populace at large, there was at worst one person per 1,061 of the same age group (aged 25 and above) facing investigations or trials for murder in 2009.

1 in 54 MPs faces kidnapping chargeSimilarly, one in every 23 MPs was facing the charge of attempt to commit murder. For the population at large, the corresponding number was one among every 4,220.

MPs also convincingly outdid average Indians in kidnapping/abduction and dacoity/robbery cases. In 2009, one in every 54 MPs was facing investigation or trial for kidnapping/abduction or dacoity/robbery. The corresponding figures for the general population was one kidnapping/abduction case per 5,510 people and one dacoity/robbery case per 3,832.

When it comes to riots too, our MPs clearly stand out from the crowd. Compared to one case for every 1,436 Indians, the figure for the Lok Sabha was one in every 54. The honourable exception to this otherwise depressing pattern is rape, where the ADR data indicates that there was no pending rape case against any of the MPs elected in 2009.

For the purposes of our comparative analysis, we laid down certain parameters to get around the problem of the ADR and NCRD data not being strictly comparable. These actually worked in favour of the MPs — and without which the numbers would have been stacked even more heavily against them.

Since it would be unfair to compare crime rate for MPs, who have to be 25 years or more of age, with the entire population including children, we took only the 25-plus population of India in 2009 for comparison. That roughly halved the population figure. Unfortunately, NCRB data does not give us figures for how many of those cases are pending against those aged below 25, so we took into account all crimes, including those that would have been committed by people younger than 25. This seriously overestimates the general crime rate, since it is an established fact that nearly half of all crimes are committed by people aged between 18 and 30. Despite that, crime rate among our netas is much higher than among the general population.

Another point of difference between ADR and NCRB: The ADR data on murder-related charges against MPs includes cases under section 300, 302, 303, 304, 304A, 304B, 305, 306, 308 of IPC. The corresponding NCRB data compiled by TOI includes section 302, 304, 304A, 304B and 308. There are similar differences for other crimes. Yet, the comparison does indicate the degree of difference in criminalization in Parliament and in society at large.

Of course, it is possible that some or even a significant chunk of the charges MPs face are politically motivated. But even if 10% of them are genuine, that would still mean our lawmakers have a much higher proportion of criminals in their midst than those who elected them.

Criminals in politics are i) richer and ii) more likely to get re-electedBigger the criminal charge, fatter the politician’s wallet

Tainted Netas Win More Elections

Himanshi Dhawan TNN

The Times of India 2013/07/30

New Delhi: Money and muscle power not only help to win elections but also help in making politics a rather profitable affair. An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) for the last decade shows that 62,847 candidates had average assets of Rs 1.37 crore. But candidates who won elections had average assets of Rs 3.83 crore.

What’s more interesting is that the wealth of legislators who faced criminal cases rose even more — to Rs 4.30 crore — and MPs and MLAs facing serious pending charges like murder, kidnapping and rape were on top of the heap with average assets of Rs 4.38 crore.

Not only do candidates who combine the cocktail of politics, criminality and crores have a higher chance of re-contesting, they also have a better record of winning elections than candidates with a clean record, says the study. The study by ADR — a thinktank working on poll reforms — is based on affidavits filed by candidates before the Election Commission .

Of the 62,847 parliamentary and assembly candidates since 2004, 11,063 or 18% have criminal cases against them. Of these, 8% or 5,253 have declared ‘serious’ criminal cases.

CRIME PAYS FOR SOME? (statistics)Rs.1.37cr: Average assets of 62,847 candidates who have contested MP and MLA elections since 2004

Rs.3.83cr: Average assets of victorious candidates

Rs.4.30 cr: Average wealth of MPs and MLAs who face criminal charges

4.38 cr: Average wealth of legislators facing serious charges like murder, kidnapping & rape

18%: Number of candidates facing criminal cases

8%: Number of candidates facing serious criminal cases

RS seat goes for 100cr: Cong MPCongres MP from Haryana Birender Singh said big money was buying seats in Rajya Sabha, training focus on the malaise gripping politics. Singh is reported to have said he knew a person who had kept Rs 100 crore to become an RS MP but managed to achieve his objective with Rs 80 crore. “Not one, but I can tell you 20 (such) people,” he said. The opposition accused the Congres of “cutting deals”.

‘74% tainted candidates got a second chance’Speaking on the study, ADR’s professor Trilochan Shastry said, “Criminalization is a fact which can’t be denied. Money plays a big role in elections and criminalization makes it worse.”

ADR also exposed the doublespeak of political parties. The analysis of criminal records of 4,181 repeat candidates shows that 1,072 of them had a criminal case the first time they contested an election and 788 had cases the second time also. This indicates that political parties gave tickets to 74% of candidates with criminal records the second time despite being aware of their dubious backgrounds.

Of the 4,181 candidates who contested more than once, 3,173 showed an increase in wealth. While the average assets of re-contesting candidates went up to Rs 2.34 crore, the average assets of the 4,181 candidates with criminal records grew from Rs 1.74 crore to Rs 4.08 crore.

The assets of all recontesting candidates have grown — to Rs 2.85 crore on average. This translates to 134% growth in declared wealth in less than five years. About 1,615 of the 4,181 candidates showed an increase of over 200%,

684 an increase of over 500%, while assets of 317 candidates increased by over 1000%.

In a break-up of political parties, 75% of Shiv Sena MPs and MLAs since 2004 have declared criminal cases against them, followed by the RJD with 46% such candidates and the JD(U) with 44%. The BJP and the Congres were at 31% and 22% respectively.

Pendency (in years) of criminal cases against MPs50 MPs have criminal cases pending against them for more than 10 yearsAshish Tripathi,TNN | Mar 11, 2014

The Times of India

LUCKNOW: Two MPs from UP figure among the top eight parliamentarians against whom criminal cases are pending for more than 20 years in the law courts, reveals an analysis done by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-government body working for transparency and probity in elections.

The two MPs are BJP's Ramakant Yadav from Azamgarh, and SP's Ramkishun from Chandauli. Yadav is an accused in a murder case which is pending in the court for the past 25 years. Ramkishun is accused in a robbery case pending for the past 24 years.

The ADR in association with the National Election Watch (NEW) did the analysis following the directions of the Supreme Court. The SC on Monday had directed that the criminal cases against MPs and MLAs be completed within a year from the date of framing of charges by the trial court.

Types of criminal cases against MPsThe ADR and NEW analyzed the affidavits of the Lok Sabha MPs elected in 2009. It found that 50 Lok Sabha MPs from 2009 have a total of 136 criminal cases pending against them for ten years or more. Similarly, 30 Lok Sabha MPs have a total of 58 serious criminal cases pending against them for ten years or more.

The study also revealed that there are five Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of 14 cases of murder which have been pending for ten years or more. Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has declared 10 cases of murder against himself which have been pending for an average of 12 years. Guddu Premchand of Cogress from Ujjain Constituency, Madhya Pradesh, has declared a case of murder which has been pending 29 years.

Further, there are nine Lok Sabha MPs who have a total of 14 cases of attempt to murder against them which have been pending for more than 10 years. Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has six cases of attempt to murder against him which have been pending for an average of 11 years. Venugopala Reddy Modugula of TDP from Narasaraopet vonstituency has a case of attempt to murder which has been pending for 23 years.

There are 20 Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of 30 cases of kidnapping and wrongful confinement which have been pending for 10 years or more. Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has declared seven cases of kidnapping and wrongful confinement which have been pending for an average of 14 years. Kalmadi Suresh of Cogress from Pune Constituency has declared a case of wrongful confinement for three or more days which has been pending for 28 years.

There are four Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of four cases of robbery and dacoity which have been pending for more than 10 years.

The ADR has also issued an appeal for the people: "While the judiciary has taken very important steps including July 10 2013 judgment which debarred elected representatives from continuing in office after conviction to decriminalize politics, political parties have continued to field candidates with serious criminal cases because of their 'winnability' factor. In this scenario, the role of citizens becomes pre-eminent. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections gives us the opportunity to elect clean and more accountable MPs."

Serious criminal cases pending for the maximum duration:29 years Murder: Guddu Premchand of Cogress from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh 28 years

Rioting and Theft: Adhikari Sisir Kumar of AITC from Kanthi, West Bengal

25 years Murder: Ramakant Yadav of BJP from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh

24 years Attempt to Commit Robbery: Ramkishun of SP from Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh. Concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war: Gandhi Dilipkumar Mansukhlal of BJP from Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.

23 years Attempt to Murder: Venugopala Reddy Modugula of TDP from Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh.

20 years Murder: Kameshwar Baitha of JMM from Palamau Constituency, Jharkhand.

Attempt to Murder: Abdul Mannan Hossain of Cogress from Murshidabad, West Bengal

Trials against MPs in serious cases continue for 7 years on an averageHimanshi Dhawan | TNN

The Times of India

New Delhi: Cases of murder or kidnapping against parliamentarians remain pending in trial courts for an average of 7 years and if you’re Ujjain MP Guddu Premchand, it could even be 29 years.

In the current Lok Sabha, 30 parliamentarians charged with serious offences like murder are yet to stand trial for the last 10 years, an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms has found. These are among the 76 MPs facing serious criminal charges.

No wonder then that the one-year deadline set by the Supreme Court to try legislators with serious criminal charges has left politicians a worried lot. Congres parliamentarian Premchand has a case of murder pending against him for the longest period of time, 29 years, according to ADR.

Premchand in a statement denied the charge, saying he had no pending cases against him and the report was an effort to malign his political image. ADR’s data is based on 2009 election affidavits filed by candidates with the Election Commission and TOI has not verified it independently.

Among other MPs who have long pending cases against them include Trinamool MP from Kanthi in West Bengal Sisir Kumar Adhikari who has cases of riot and theft pending since 28 years while BJP’s Ramakant Yadav from Azamgarh in UP has a case of murder pending against him for the last 25 years.

SP’s Ramkishun was accused of attempted robbery 24 years ago while BJP MP Dilipkumar Mansukhlal Gandhi from Maharashtra has a case of concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage a war for a similar period. This list includes Congres MP from Pune Suresh Kalmadi who has a case of wrongful confinement for three or more days which has been pending for 28 years.

Andhra Pradesh’s Venugopal Reddy Modugula has a 23-year-old case of attempt to murder while Kameshwar Baitha of JMM has a 20-yearold murder case pending against him. Congres MP from West Bengal Abdul Mannan Hossain has a 20-year-old case of attempt to murder pending against him.

There are 14 Lok Sabha MPs who occupy a special place in the hall of shame with 14 cases of murder or attempt to murder which have been pending for 10 years or more against them. These include Baitha and Guddu Premchand.

These are followed closely by 20 MPs who have declared a total of 30 cases of kidnapping and wrongful confinement which have been pending for 10 years or more. There are four Lok Sabha MPs who have declared a total of four cases of robbery and dacoity which have been pending for more than 10 years.

Parliament, not Judiciary can prohibitThe Times of India, Feb 19 2015

Amit Choudhary

Parliament, not us, can bar tainted netas from contesting polls: SCThe Supreme Court said the Judiciary could not restrain tainted people from contesting elections as it falls under the legislature's domain, which alone was competent to enact a law on this issue. A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu said the idea of restraining people against whom charges of heinous offence has been framed looked “attractive and noble“ but the court has its limitations.

“In the name of judicial activism, we cannot enter into an area belonging to Parliament. Separation of pow er is a basic structure of Constitution and we must respect it,“ the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri and Arun Mishra, said. “It is for Parliament to decide.They know how to run the country and who should run for election. We should not step in,“ it added.

Additional solicitor general Maninder Singh said the issue had already been settled by a constitution bench judgment of the apex court, which had refused to restrain the government from appointing tainted MPs and MLAs as ministers and left the matter to the conscience of the prime minister and chief ministers.

Backing the ASG's submission, the bench said when the constitution bench had refused to pass an order against appointment of tainted representatives in the council of ministers, how it could pass an order pre venting tainted persons from contesting elections.

The bench also said that in criminal jurisprudence, a person is presumed innocent till he is convicted and his right to contest elections cannot be curtailed just because charges were framed against him.

Trials against tainted MPs and MLAs to be completed within a year: SCFinish trial against tainted MPs and MLAs in a year: SCCases Of Graft, Heinous Crimes Fast-Tracked

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

The Times of India

New Delhi: After ordering disqualification of MPs and MLAs immediately after conviction for heinous offences, the Supreme Court on Monday took a second big step towards cleansing the political process by directing that trial proceedings in cases of corruption and serious crimes against elected representatives must be completed within a year.

The apex court’s July 10, 2013 judgment had robbed elected representatives of the benefit under Section 8(4) of Representative of People Act which allowed them to save their membership in respective Houses by merely filing an appeal within three months of the order of conviction.

However, “tainted” MPs and MLAs drew some comfort from the snail-paced judicial process, hoping that cases against them would linger indefinitely, or that they could use delaying tactics in order to prevent the court from reaching a final conclusion about their alleged guilt and pronounce a judgment.

The order, passed by a bench of Justices R M Lodha and Kurian Joseph on Monday, ends the last hope of MPs and MLAs of evading early adjudication and a possible conviction resulting in a sentence of two years or more, which generally follows in a corruption case or in serious offences. CLEANING UP POLITICS

Trial proceedings in cases of corruption and serious crimes against MPs and MLAs will have to be completed within a year of charges being framed

All trial courts must adhere to one-year deadline. If they overshoot, they’ll have to give written explanation to chief justice of HC concerned

On July 10, 2013, SC had ruled that MPs/MLAs would immediately lose their seat in case of conviction

But lawmakers facing cases could still hope for them to drag on for years. The SC has now closed this loophole 76 MPs face serious charges

The SC order could adversely impact the future of many politicians. As many as 76 (14%) of the 543 MPs have serious charges pending against them. Similarly, 1,258 or 31% of the total 4,032 MLAs across India have criminal cases against them, with 14% facing serious charges. P 15 Deadline to start after framing of charges

In an interim order on a PIL by NGO ‘Public Interest Foundation’, an SC bench said, “Where sitting MPs and MLAs are facing corruption cases and other serious offences, the trial will be completed expeditiously on a day-today basis and in no instance later than one year from the date of framing of charges.”

This means, those who get elected in the coming general elections and have pending criminal and corruption cases against them, the verdict will be out before May next year. If found guilty and sentenced to more than two years imprisonment, they will immediately lose their membership. This order will also have a sanitizing effect on political parties and ensure that they do not field candidates with criminal background.

The bench directed all trial courts, which are hearing cases of corruption and serious offences against MPs and MLAs, to strictly adhere to the one-year limit from framing of charges and warned that if they overshot the deadline, then they would have to give written explanation to the chief justice of the high court concerned.

“In extraordinary circumstances, where the trial court is not being able to conclude the trial within one year of framing charges, it would submit a report to the chief justice of the concerned HC indicating the special reasons for the delay. The chief justice may issue appropriate directions to the concerned court for extension of time for conclusion of trial,” said Justices Lodha and Joseph after additional solicitor general Paras Kuad agreed with the court’s view on behalf of the Centre.

The bench took framing of charge as the starting point for fixing one-year time period for completion of trial keeping in mind the law commission’s recommendation that filing of chargesheet “is not an appropriate stage to introduce electoral disqualifications”.

The commission said there was not sufficient application of judicial mind to the charges levelled by the investigating agency at the time of filing of chargesheet.

However, it recommended that framing of charges involved application of judicial mind to the charges and evidence.

The commission in its recommendation to the Union government on February 24 proposed disqualification of MPs and MLAs if a trial court framed charges against them in cases of corruption or heinous offences.

Time limit on netas’ trials at odds with earlier SC ruling?7-Judge Bench Had Said Such A Bar Wasn’t Judicially Permissible

Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN

The Times of India

New Delhi: By fixing a oneyear limit for completion of trial against elected representatives, did a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court overstep a seven-judge constitution bench ruling that no outer limit could be set for conclusion of criminal proceedings?

There were several judgments before 2002, in which different benches of the apex court had fixed definite time periods for completion of trial and had ordered that if it overshot the limit, the trial would come to an end and the accused would be acquitted.

All these judgments and their correctness were tested by a seven-judge bench in P Ramachandra Rao vs State of Karnataka [(2002) 4 SCC 578]. The bench ruled, “It is neither advisable, nor feasible, nor judicially permissible to draw or prescribe an outer limit for conclusion of all criminal proceedings.

“The time limits or bars of limitation prescribed in the several directions made in Common Cause (I), Raj Deo Sharma (I) and Raj Deo Sharma (II) could not have been so prescribed or drawn and are not good law. The criminal courts are not obliged to terminate trial or criminal proceedings merely on account of lapse of time, as prescribed by the directions made in Common Cause case (I), Raj Deo Sharma case (I) and (II). Such time limits cannot and will not by themselves be treated by any court as a bar to further continuance of the trial or proceedings and as mandatorily obliging the court to terminate the same and acquit or discharge the accused.”

Monday’s order by a bench of Justices R M Lodha and Kurian Joseph stayed within the parameters laid down in the seven-judge bench’s judgment by clarifying that corruption case and heinous offence trial proceedings against MPs and MLAs would not be terminated on expiry of the oneyear period.

It said if under extraordinary circumstances the trial proceedings could not be completed within the prescribed one-year time limit, the trial judge would send a report to the chief justice of the high court concerned explaining reasons for

non-completion of proceedings. The bench said the chief justice would give appropriate directions after going through the trial judge’s report.

Justices Lodha and Joseph said it was the right of every accused in criminal case to get expeditious trial. “For that to become a reality, the governments must provide more number of judges,” it said and requested additional solicitor general Paras Kuhad to impress upon the government to increase the strength of trial judges.

It said in some countries the judge to population ratio was 50 per lakh but in India it was abysmally low at 16 per million (10 lakh). The budgetary allocation too was meagre, it said. “All trials should be completed in one year, why only for MPs and MLAs? But for that the governments need to give more funds and provide adequate judicial infrastructure,” it said.

2012-14: Ministers allegedly involved in criminal cases90% of T-ministers face criminal chargesNew Delhi:

TIMES NEWS NETWORK The Times of India Aug 30 2014

Ministers with Pending Criminal Cases

12 Union Ministers Have Pending Criminal Cases

About 44 of the 194 state cabinet ministers from 13 Assemblies (where elections were conducted in the last two years: 2012-14) and 12 out of 45 Union ministers [in 2014] have criminal cases pending against them.

The figures have been arrived at by the Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch which analysed the election affidavits of 239 of the 245 ministers.

In the states, 26 or 13% ministers have serious criminal charges, including rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping or electoral violations against them.

For instance, there are two ministers from BJP in the Rajasthan cabinet -Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Rathore -with cases of murder pending against them. Odisha's Prafulla Kumar Mallik (BJD) also faces a kidnapping charge.

TDP's Ganta Srinivas Rao from Andhra and TRS ministers Thanneeru Harish Rao, Eatala Rajender and Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy from Telangana have declared that attempt to murder cases are pending against them.

Incidentally, Telangana has the highest percentage -90 -of ministers facing criminal charges. India's newest state is followed by Andhra Pradesh, where more than half of the ministers have criminal cases (56%), followed by Karnataka (34%) and Odisha (27%).

In fact, the only two chief ministers who face criminal charges come from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu.

States where no ministers face criminal charges include Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

States that were considered for the report include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Telangana.

2015State ministers2015: Pending cases, assetsThe Times of India, Aug 06, 2016

34% of state mantris face criminal casesAs many as 34% of ministers in states have declared criminal cases pending against themselves, while 76% are crorepatis with average assets of Rs 8.59

crore, finds a new study. Declarations of a total of 609 ministers out of 620 have been analysed from 29 state assemblies and two Union Territories by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Among the ministers with highest assets include Ponguru Narayana of Telugu Desam Party with total assets of Rs 496 crore, followed by D K Shivakumar of Congress (Rs 251crore).

Out of the 609 state ministers whose declarations were analysed, 210 (34%) ministers have criminal cases against their names. 24 (31%) out of 78 ministers in the Centre, have declared criminal cases against themselves.

113 ministers from state assemblies have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women.

Out of the 78 ministers in the Centre whose declarations were analysed, 14 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, the study said.

The states with highest percentage of ministers with serious criminal cases include nine ministers from Jharkhand, four from Delhi, nine from Telangana, 18 from Maharashtra, 11 from Bihar and two from Uttarakhand.

The average assets per minister from state assemblies is Rs 8.59 crore. Compared to this, the average assets of the Union council of ministers is Rs 12.94 crore.

Also, the average assets of ministers with declared criminal cases is Rs 9.52 crore, while the average assets of ministers with no criminal cases is Rs 8.10 crore.

The state with the highest average assets per minister is Andhra Pradesh (20 ministers) with average assets of Rs 45.49 crore, followed by Karnataka (31 ministers) with average assets of Rs 36.96 crore and Arunachal Pradesh (7 ministers) with average assets of Rs 32.62 crore.

The state with the lowest average assets of ministers is Tripura (12 ministers) with average assets of Rs 31.67 lakh. All state council of ministers analysed from Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab and Puducherry are crorepatis.They are followed by 97% ministers of Karnataka and 92% from Rajasthan, Goa, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh who have also declared assets valued at Rs 1crore and above.

2015: SC-Unseating if criminal cases cancelledThe Times of India

Feb 06 2015

Amit Choudhary

Non-disclosure of pending criminal cases at the time of filing nomination paper can cost an elected member his seat with the Supreme Court ruling that it amounts to corrupt practice and the election must be quashed on that ground. In a landmark verdict, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant held that concealment or suppression of criminal cases tantamounts to “fraud“ with the electorate and it creates an impediment in the free exercise of electoral right.

“As the candidate has the special knowledge of the pending cases where cognizance has been taken or charges have been framed and there is a non-disclosure on his part, it would amount to undue influence and, therefore, the election is to be declared null and void by the Election Tribunal,“ it said.

It said that disclosure of criminal antecedents of a candidate, especially pertaining to heinous or serious offence or offences relating to corruption or moral turpitude at the time of filing of nomination paper, is a “categorical imperative“. The bench said that an informed electorate is the foundation of a vibrant and healthy democracy and they have a right to know about criminal antecedents of people in the fray . It said non-disclosure of criminal cases by a candidate is an attempt to suppress, misguide and keep people in the dark.

“Concealment or sup pression of this nature deprives the voters to make an informed and advised choice as a consequence of which it would come within the compartment of direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere with the free exercise of the right to vote by the electorate, on the part of the candidate,“ it said. “This attempt undeniably and undisputedly is undue influence and, therefore, amounts to corrupt practice,“ it said.

“The attempt has to be perceived as creating an impediment in the mind of a voter, who is expected to vote to make a free, informed and advised choice,“ it said.

2015: No serious charges against MLAsThe Times of India

Feb 12 2015

No Delhi MLAs face murder, rape chargesThe new Delhi assembly is `cleaner' compared to its earlier avatar with a dip in the number of legislators with criminal cases, according to an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms, reports Himanshi Dhawan. Though the

percentage of MLAs with criminal cases has dropped marginally from 36% to 34%, none of them have pending serious criminal cases such as rape, kidnapping and murder. Of the 24 MLAs with criminal cases against them, 23 belong to AAP . Of the 70 legislators, 44 (63%) are crorepatis compared to 51 (73%) in 2013.

Haryana, Jharkhand and J&K assemblies, elected in 2014, also saw a drop in the number of MLAs with criminal antecedents.

The Times of India

2015 Assembly also has fewer crorepatisFeb 12 2015

Himanshi Dhawan

The 2015 Delhi assembly is cleaner and poorer compared to its 2013 avatar with a dip in the number of crorepati legislators and those with criminal cases. The assembly elected on Tuesday is overwhelmingly dominated by Aam Aadmi Party with 67 members while BJP has three. The percentage of legislators with criminal cases has dropped marginally from 36% to 34% while the figure for crorepatis has come down from 73% to 63%.

Significantly, none of the MLAs have serious criminal cases like rape, kidnapping and murder pending against them.

The analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) is based on affidavits submitted by candidates to the Election Commission.

In contrast, both the number of crorepatis and those with criminal cases increased in the 2014 Maharashtra polls.

While crorepati MLAs increased from 66% in 2009 to 88% in 2014, the number of legislators with criminal background increased from 136 (52%) to 165 (57%) in the same period. Haryana, Jharkhand and J&K assemblies, which were elected in 2014, also saw a drop in the number of legislators with criminal antecedents. However, there was a substantial increase in the number of moneybags in all three. In Delhi, 24 of the 70 MLAs (34%) have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these, 23 belong to AAP while one is from BJP. This is down from the 2013 assembly when 25 (36%) MLAs declared criminal cases pending against them. In the 2008 Delhi assembly elections, 29 (43%) out of 68 MLAs had declared criminal cases.

No MLA declared heinous criminal cases like murder, rape, attempt to murder and crimes against women. Incidentally, 91 out of 673 candidates with criminal

cases, including 60 candidates with charges of heinous crimes pending against them, lost the assembly polls.

Delhi MLAs this time are a shade poorer as well. Of the 70 MLAs, 44 (63%) are crorepatis this year compared to 51 (73%) in 2013 and 47 (69%) in the 2008 polls.

The average assets per MLA has also dipped from Rs 10.83 crore in 2013 to Rs 6.29 crore this time. BJP had won 32 seats compared to AAP's 28 in the 2013 elections.

2015: Trials of chargesheeted lawmaker, pendencyThe Times of India, Sep 14 2015

2015: Pendency of trials of chargesheeted lawmaker; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

HCs of no help, govt builds own record on tainted netasPradeep Thakur

A year-and-half after the apex court set a oneyear deadline to complete the trial of all chargesheeted MPs and MLAs, a clueless government has started compiling its own data on the pendency of such cases using affidavits of politicians submitted to the Election Commission wherein they have declared the criminal cases against them. The law ministry had earlier tried to source

data from each of the 24 high courts on the status of trial against chargesheeted lawmakers, but it is yet to receive any information.

In a judgment delivered on March 10 last year, the SC had directed fast-tracking the trial of lawmakers against whom charges had been framed, setting a one-year deadline, from the framing of charges, for its completion.

Later, the government had proposed detailed guidelines providing for the setting up of a special cell in each of the HCs to take stock of the pendency of such cases.

As part of the monitoring mechanism, according to the guidelines worked out by the government after the apex court judgment, the district judges were made responsible for monitoring trials, ensuring that they are completed within a year and no unwarranted adjournments are allowed. The pendency or completion of such trials was to be communicated to the HC's special cell, which in turn was to provide this data to the government.

However, over 18 months since, the government has not received any such infor mation from any of the high courts on the completion of trials against elected representatives.

A source said the issue gained urgency after the government received a lot of representations from eminent persons and civil society groups seeking information on the status of pendency of cases against tainted politicians, and queries that sought to know in how many cases the trial had been completed.

According to an analysis of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO working for electoral reforms, the current Lok Sabha has at least 34% representatives who have declared criminal cases against them in affidavits submitted before the EC.

The ADR study further says that at least 112 MPs elected in the 2014 general elections had serious criminal charges against them, including rape, murder, kidnapping and rioting.

The number of politicians with criminal antecedents has only increased over the years, and they have proved to be more successful at the hustings.

2016: Criminal record among MLAsThe Times of India, May 21 2016

ADR: 36% of new MLAs have crime record, 50% crorepatis

More than half the winning candidates in the recently concluded assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry are crorepatis and over onethird face criminal cases. Analysis of candidates' affidavits by Association for affidavits by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) found that of the 812 candidates, Puducherry had the maximum number of crorepatis (83%) followed by Tamil Nadu (76%). While Assam boasted of more than half its legislators in the crorepati club (57%), Kerala has 44% followed by West Bengal with 34% crorepatis.

The number of crorepatis have seen an upward spike. In 2011, Assam had 39% of crorepati MLAs, while Kerala had 25%, Puducherry (63%), Tamil Nadu (51%) and West Bengal (15%). In Puducherry , 30 MLAs were analysed of which 25 are crorepatis, while in Tamil Nadu 223 MLAs were analysed, with 170 emerging as crorepatis this year. A total of 186 MLAs have declared that they have never filed income tax returns. Kerala has the maximum percentage (60%) of MLAs who have not filed income tax returns, followed by West Bengal (20%).

About 36% (294) of the winning candidates have criminal cases against them. Of these, 176 have declared serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and robbery . Kerala had the maximum number of legislators with criminal cases (62%) followed by Puducherry and WB at 37% and Tamil Nadu at 34%. WB, however, had the maximum number of MLAs with serious criminal cases (32%). Puducherry has the hig hest average assets (Rs 13.45 crore) of MLAs followed by Tamil Nadu with average assets of Rs 8.21crore and Kerala with average assets of Rs 2.82 crore. The number of women MLAs is only 77 out of 812 analysed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry assembly elections.

On analysis based on age, the survey said that five MLAs are above 80 years of age, while 38 are aged 71 to 80 years, 187 (61 to 70 years), 278 (51to 60 years), 212 (41to 50 years), 87 (31 to 40 years) and 5 (25 to 30 years).

In India, Politics Is CriminalOne-third of Indian MPs have criminal charges pending. Can this situation be fixed?

By Ram Mashru

April 12, 2014 

This week marked the beginning of India’s mammoth general elections. Between April 7 and May 12, 814 million people – the largest electorate in the world – will have the chance to choose the country’s 16thgovernment. And early estimates of the voter turnout show that this is an election in which Indians are energized and engaged. But one regrettable fact mars this feat of democracy: the selection of political candidates facing criminal charges.

Criminality is a well-established problem in India’s politics, and all of the major political parties are implicated. 41 percent of MPs belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s Hindu nationalist opposition party, face criminal charges, compared with 24 percent for the incumbent Congress party. In total, one-third of all of the MPs in India’s current parliament, elected in 2009, are accused of crimes ranging from electoral misconduct and rape to murder. Despite the seriousness of these charges few, if any, will ever face a judge or jury.

Data compiled on the candidates for this year’s election show that little has changed. In India, electoral candidates are required by law to disclose all pending criminal charges. A recently published study of these declarations by the Association of Democratic Reforms, a watchdog agency, found that a fifth of the candidates contesting seats had criminal charges filed against them. The study only covers half of India’s states, and when the study is completed the proportion of alleged lawbreakers found to be standing for parliament will almost certainly increase.Enjoying this article?   Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

India’s political class has done little to purge itself of these alleged wrongdoers. Why? Because criminal candidates win votes. Corrupt officials are often thought of as Robin Hood figures and are voted for by people hoping to benefit from their political misconduct. Parties also often secure strategic advantages by nominating criminal candidates. As Milan Vaishnav, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, highlighted in a penetrating study of the issue, rogue

candidates bring with them illicit funds and loyal supporters. Indeed, an analysis of the two previous general elections reveals that alleged wrongdoers perform better at the polls. Candidates with a “clean image” had a 7 percent chance of success, whereas those accused of minor crimes and those accused of major crimes had success rates of 19 percent and 25 percent respectively.

Campaign groups have successfully increased public awareness of the issue of criminality in politics, but a lack of information is not the sole problem. Accusations of criminal wrongdoing are highly politicized. The legal system is often abused to make spurious allegations, resulting in many valid accusations against offending MPs being dismissed by voters as false.

Ultimately the presence of wrongdoers in India’s politics reflects the preferences of India’s voters. As Simon Chauchard, a professor at Dartmouth, explains, voters often prioritize things other than transparency and legality: in many cases the antiquated bonds of class, caste, and clan outweigh questions about the criminal records of candidates. In light of the fact that probity in public office is often a disadvantage, parties are clearly making alternative calculations: candidates are no longer being selected for their promise of change but for their ability to win seats.

Last October a former cabinet minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, was charged and sentenced to five years imprisonment for fraudulently claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies for non-existent livestock. Yadav’s arrest and conviction was unprecedented, but the trial failed to trigger subsequent proceedings against India’s many long-accused officials. Instead, politicians continue to use their office to avoid prosecution, having perfected the art of being re-elected. As Shahabuddin Quraishi, India’s former Chief Election Commissioner, recently revealed, candidates are known to transport bribe money in everything from milk tankers to funeral caskets to buy votes during election season.

Three years ago Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party President, said, “”We need to build a consensus on how to prevent individuals with a criminal record from contesting

elections.” But, as the newly released data on criminal candidates shows, this consensus is no closer to being reached.

Bihar: Assembly elections

Bihar assembly elections, 1951- 1967, the parties that won the elections, the runners-up, seats won by them and their share of all votes cast; The growth in the number of seats in the Bihar assembly from 1951 to 2005; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 1969-85: The parties that won the elections, the runners-up, seats won by them and their share of all votes cast; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 1990- 2010: The parties that won the elections, the runners-up, seats won by them and their share of all votes cast; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Assembly elections in Bihar, the performance of national and regional parties, 1990-2010; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, October 27, 2015

1990-2015: The rise and fall of national and state political parties (votes polled, seats won); Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

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Caste and politics in Bihar: Numbers, loyalties, performance, seen after the assembly elections of Nov 2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly and Lok Sabha elections, 2005-2010, the seats won by the various parties; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 10, 2015

Bihar assembly and Lok Sabha elections: 2014, 2015: the seats won by the various parties; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 10, 2015

Bihar poll toppers: 1951-2010

Bihar poll toppers, 1951-67; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 11, 2015

Bihar poll toppers: 1969-85; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 11, 2015

Bihar poll toppers: 1990-2010; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 11, 2015

2010: Partywise position of postal ballots cast in the Bihar assembly elections; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, October 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 1951-80: Votes polled by the ruling alliance as a percentage of the total electorate; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections,1985-2015: Votes polled by the ruling alliance as a percentage of the total electorate; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Muslim MLAs in Bihar: 1952-2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 10, 2015

1951-2010: How representative were the Bihar legislative assemblies; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

1951-2015: Caste composition of the Bihar Legislative Assembly

Caste composition of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, 1951-2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 10, 2015

Bihar, Election trends, Assembly and Lok Sabha: 2005-2014

Bihar: Election trends, 2005-2014 (assembly, Lok Sabha); Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Bihar: Performance of SC and ST candidates in the 2005 and 2010 Assembly Elections; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

MPs and MLAs, Bihar, 2004-14; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, September 21, 2015

2010: Bihar Assembly election

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Strike rates of political parties 2010 election; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 2010: Number of rallies by top campaigners; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 2010: Number of miles travelled by the campaigners; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

2010 elections: Victory marginsThe Times of India, Oct 06 2015

2010 Bihar assembly elections, Winning candidates % of valid votes polled; Winning candidates margin of win; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Oct 06 2015

Atul Thakur  48 seats saw win margins under 5k in 1010Several close calls can add up to an electoral sweepEven a contest that is largely bipolar and pro duces a decisive verdict in a state need not produce decisive mandates from seat to seat, as the 2010 polls in Bihar illustrate. An analysis of the 2010 results shows that the onesided verdict in which the JD(U)-BJP combine won 206 of the 243 seats against just 25 for the RJD-LJP alliance nevertheless saw a lot of close seat level contests.In fact, the winning candidate got a majority of the votes polled in less than 10% of the seats. BJP won in 12 of these constituencies while JD (U) won 11. There were another 91 constituencies where the winning candidate polled between 40% and 50% of the valid votes.Of these, 47 seats went to the JD (U) while the BJP and RJD won in 32 and 11 such seats respectively .

It is interesting to note that in more than half the seats in a largely bipolar contest the winning candidate got less than 40% of the votes. Indeed, there were 29 constituencies where the winner got less than even 30% of the votes polled. Despite sweeping the elections, the winning candidates of the JD(U)-BJP alliance were more or less evenly distributed across all these ranges.The closeness of the contests at the seat level is revealed also in the victory margins in the 2010 elections. There were 48 constituencies where the victory margin was less than 5,000 votes. The JD(U) won 17 of these seats, the RJD 12 and BJP 11.This clearly sugBATTL gests that even a marginal swing in BI the votes could have thrown up a significantly different outcome in terms of party tallies, though the overall re sult would not have changed.The average margin was about 15,000 votes. In 145 seats, or about 60% of the total, the vic tory margin was less than this average of 15,000 votes. Interest ingly, in the 98 conEGROUND stituencies where HAR the margin was higher than the av erage the winning alliance was successful in all but one.It is also instructive to note that despite the essentially bipolar nature of the contest, 35.4% of the votes polled did not go to either of the two major combines.The Congress won 8.4% and smaller parties and independents mopped up a sizeable 27%.Clearly, therefore, what is bipolar at the state-wide level can become quite multi-cornered at the micro level. That explains why so much effort goes into micro managing the details.

58% MLAs face criminal chargesThe Times of India, November 10, 2015Pranava Kumar ChaudharyAltogether 142 (58%) of the 243 MLAs elected in 2015 face criminal charges. RJD tops the list with 46 out of its 80 MLAs in that category. The total figure is 1% up compared to 57% in 2010 assembly election. One MLA has declared himself illiterate while 93 (38%) are 5th to 12th pass, 138 (57%) graduate or above and nine are simply literate. Altogether 80 MLAs have been re-elected.Poonam Devi Yadav, who has been elected from Khagaria on a JD(U) ticket, is the richest among the MLAs with total assets worth over Rs 41 crore. The average assets per MLA elected this time is Rs 3.02 crore. In 2010, it was only Rs 82.46 lakh.

According to Bihar Election Watch (BEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analysis based on the MLAs' affidavits submitted with their nomination papers, 98 (40%) have serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, creating communal disharmony, kidnapping and crime against women pending against them.Out of the 142 MLAs facing criminal cases, 70 (49%) have already been chargesheeted. RJD MLA from Jhanjharpur Gulab Yadav has declared one rape case pending against him, said BEW state coordinator Rajiv Kumar. Ten MLAs have kidnapping cases pending against them. Anant Kumar Singh, an Independent MLA from Mokama in Patna district, has declared two cases of kidnapping or abduction for murder against him, Kumar said.Party-wise, 46 out of 80 MLAs from RJD (58%), 37 (52%) out of 71 from JD(U), 34 (64%) out of 53 from BJP, 16 (59%) out of 27 from Congress, all the three (100%) from CPI(ML), one (50%) out of two from RLSP and both (100%) from LJP face criminal charges. READ ALSO:In 5 years, Bihar MLAs' wealth rose how much?The top three richest MLAs are Poonam Devi Yadav of JD(U) from Khagaria with assets over Rs 41 crore followed by Congress MLA from Bhagalpur Ajeet Sharma (Rs 40 crore) and independent MLA from Mokama Anant Kumar Singh (over Rs 28 crore).According to the report, Achmit Rishideo of JD(U) from Raniganj in Araria has the lowest assets of only worth Rs 9 lakh. Satyadeo Ram of CPI(ML) from Darauli in Siwan has assets worth more than Rs 11 lakh while Shyam Bahadur Singh of JD(U) from Barharia in Siwan has assets worth over Rs 14 lakh.Altogether 127 (52.2%) MLAs have declared their age between 25 and 50 years while 116 (48%) are in 51- 80 years age group.Only 28 (11.5%) women have been elected this time against 33 (14.5%) out of 228 MLAs in 2010.

The young, the rich, the lucky

2015: age, wealth and victory margins in the Bihar Legislative Assembly; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

2010-15

The Bihar Legislative Assembly of 2010-15; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Some information, The Bihar Legislative Assembly of 2010-15; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

Bihar Assembly and parliamentary elections, 2010, 2014, 2015: Performance of scheduled caste candidates; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 2010, 2015: The margin by which the winning candidates defeated the runners-up; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

Bihar assembly elections, 2010 and 2015: A constituency-wise map of which party won which seat; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

The average age of the Bihar legislator in 2010 and 2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, November 9, 2015

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