Criminals galore among nominees for assembly polls

New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS) At least 15 percent of the candidates in the Punjab assembly polls and 19 percent of those in Uttarakhand have criminal cases pending against them, an analysis by non-political groups said Monday.

A total of 32 percent of candidates in Uttarakhand and 65 percent in Punjab were billionaires, said the National Election Watch (NEW) and the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

A total of 408 candidates were analysed in Punjab and 278 were analysed in Uttarakhand.

"It is obvious that parties give tickets to only the wealthy. This is unfortunate. Why is it that only rich candidates are fit to represent the masses?" said Jagdeep Chhokar, founder-member of ADR.

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