New Delhi: Among the states whose Assembly results were declared last week, West Bengal has the maximum number of legislators with criminal cases pending against them -- at 35 percent, a study said on Monday.
"Around 35 percent of MLAs (members of Legislative Assembly) of West Bengal, 29 percent of Tamil Nadu, 10 percent of Assam and 30 percent of MLAs from Puducherry have criminal cases pending against them," a statement from Election Watch, the election analysis wing of think tank Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said.
The organisation did not analyse the fifth state, Kerala.
West Bengal has a total of 102 legislators with pending cases, as per their own declaration. At least 75 of them face serious charges like murder, attempt to murder, theft and kidnapping.
"All major parties have MLAs with pending criminal cases. Trinamool Congress has 69 MLAs out of 183 analysed (38 percent), Congress has 17 out of 42 (41 percent) and CPI-M (Communist PArty of India-Marxist) has 7 out of 40 (18 percent) MLAs analysed with pending criminal cases," the report said.
Ranking second among the four, union territory Puducherry has nine legislators with pending charges.
"Two MLAs out of these have declared serious IPC (Indian Penal Code) charges like voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons," ADR said.
In Tamil Nadu, 66 legislators have criminal cases pending against them, with the victorious AIADMK having highest number of 46 tainted legislators, 31 percent of its assembly strength.
DMK has seven out of 23 lawmakers (30 percent) with pending charges, CPI-M three out of 10 (30 percent) and PMK two out of its three legislators (67 percent).
"Thirty-six MLAs out of these 66 analyzed have declared serious IPC charges like murder, attempt to murder, robbery and extortion against them," said ADR.
In Assam, 13 of its 126 legislators have criminal cases pending against them.
Congress, which won the polls, has only four such legislators out of its Assembly strength of 78 (five percent).
The Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) has six lawmakers with pending cases, out of its strength of 18 (33 percent), while Trinamool Congress, Assom Gana Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have one each.
In addition, 37 percent of lawmakers in Assam, 52 percent in Tamil Nadu, 16 percent in West Bengal and 63 percent in Puducherry are multi-millionaires, the report said.
IANS
