A total of 283 candidates from major political parties contesting in the May 16 Assembly polls in the State have declared in their affidavits that criminal cases are pending against them, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Tamil Nadu Election Watch.
An analysis of the affidavits filed by 997 candidates from major recognised political parties by the ADR and Tamil Nadu Election Watch also shows that 157 of them have serious criminal cases related to murder, attempt to murder, theft, crime against women, pending against them.
Candidates with murder charges (302 of IPC) against them are: CPI’s Thalli candidate T. Ramachandran (three), DMK’s Tiruvottiyur candidate K.P.P. Samy (one), PMK’s Vilavancode and Kalasapakkam candidates R. Hariharan and R. Kalidass (one each) and DMK’s Srirangam candidate M. Palaniyandi (one).
Another 30 candidates have charges of attempt to murder (307 of the IPC) pending against them.
In 28 of the total 234 constituencies across the State, at least three candidates from major political parties have criminal cases pending against them.
The report says that the DMK has fielded 41 candidates facing serious criminal charges followed by the PMK with 36, AIADMK with 26, DMDK with 18 and the BJP with 15. Eight candidates from the Congress and three from the CPI (M) are also facing similar charges.
Crorepatis
There are 553 candidates among these 997 who have declared that their assets are valued at over Rs. 1 crore. The richest among the 553 is Congress’ Nanguneri candidate H. Vasanthakumar with a declared wealth of Rs. 337 crore, followed by DMK’s Anna Nagar candidate M.K. Mohan with Rs. 170 crore and AIADMK candidate for Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Jayalalithaa with Rs. 113 crore.
In contrast, BJP candidates V. Karuppan and S. Dandapani contesting from Chengam and Tirukoilur constituencies have declared zero assets.
The top six candidates with an annual income of over Rs. 2 crore (self + spouse + dependents) as shown in their Income Tax Returns (ITR) are: H. Vasanthakumar (Congress - Nanguneri) with Rs. 22 crore; M. Varalakshmi (DMK - Chengalpattu) with Rs. 4 crore; C. Vijayabhaskar (AIADMK - Viralimalai) with Rs. 3 crore; K.C. Veeramani (AIADMK - Jolarpet) with Rs. 3 crore; Pl.A. Chidambaram (TMC - Tirumayam) with Rs. 2 crore; and M. Karunanidhi (DMK - Tiruvarur) with Rs. 2 crore.
Parties whose candidates were analysed for the report are the AIADMK, the DMDK, the DMK, the BJP, the Congress, the CPI, the CPI (M), the PMK, the MDMK, the TMC and the VCK. A total of 3,776 candidates, including 1,107 fielded by the above-mentioned political parties are in the fray from 234 constituencies across the State for the May 16 Assembly polls.
ADR and Tamil Nadu Election Watch have clarified that analysis could not be done for 110 candidates “due to unclear affidavits.”
| Name | Constituency | Party | Criminal cases | Total Assets (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasanthakumar H. | Nanguneri | INC | 13 | 337 Crore+ |
| Mohan M.K. | Anna Nagar | DMK | 170 Crore + | |
| Jayalalithaa | R.K.Nagar | AIADMK | 4 | 113 Crore+ |
| Palanisamy K.C. | Aravakurichi | DMK | 2 | 111 Crore+ |
| Sarathkumar R. | Tiruchendur | AIADMK | 2 | 64 Crore+ |
| Karunanidhi M. | Tiruvarur | DMK | 15 | 62 Crore+ |
| Rani Venkatesan | Srivaikuntam | INC | 56 Crore+ | |
| Devanathan Yadav T. | Tiruvadanai | BJP | 3 | 56 Crore+ |
| Vijayakant | Ulundurpettai | DMDK | 31 | 53 Crore+ |
| Elango. N | Namakkal | Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) | 3 | 44 Crore+ |
| Chidambaram Pl.A | Thirumayam | Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) | 42 Crore+ | |
| Poongothai Aladi Aruna | Alangulam | DMK | 1 | 37 Crore+ |
| Gandhi R. | Ranipet | DMK | 1 | 36 Crore+ |
| Dhanapalan N.R. | Perambur | DMK | 1 | 35 Crore+ |
| Anbumani R. | Pennagaram | PMK | 9 | 33 Crore+ |
| Rajaa | Mannargudi | DMK | 33 Crore+ | |
| Sudarsanam | Madavaram | DMK | 31 Crore+ | |
| Karate R.Thiagarajan | Mylapore | INC | 31 Crore + | |
Correction:In a previous version, the table in this article had wrongly mentioned one criminal case against the DMK candidate for Madurai Central constituency P. Thiyagarajan. There are no criminal cases against Mr. Thiyagarajan. We regret the error.
