Candidates with a criminal past

Six major political parties have fielded at least 63 Lok Sabha candidates who face criminal charges or with a criminal past, says a group of election observers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the list with 28 such candidates, says the National Election Watch (NEW), a grouping of NGOs.

There are also 13 from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), five each from the Congress and Samajwadi Party and two from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

Text: IANS

Image: BJP leader and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu shouts slogans at an election campaign rally in Amritsar. (Photograph copyright AP. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.)

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