Indian elections, 70 % of candidates in Maharashtra under investigation
Mumbai (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The fight against corruption, support for the poorest , a new and clean political class: these were the "mantra" of many political parties - even those on opposite ends of the political spectrum - during the campaign ahead of the 2014general elections in India. Yet data reveals that 14 of the 20 politicians (70%) candidated this year in Maharashtra are defendants in pending criminal cases. The figure was released today, while the citizens of the northeastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya prepare to go to the polls for the second phase of voting. On 7 April, the first phase was held in Assam and Tripura.
Politicians affected by this "honor" belong to the four major parties in the race in the state: Congress (Socialist Liberal), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP, socialist), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Hindu nationalist) and the Shiv Sena (regional nationalist party). The people of Maharashtra will vote in three rounds, the first of which (and the third in absolute terms) will be held tomorrow and will cover 10 constituencies out of 48. The other two rounds will take place on April 17 and 24.
Among these parties, the worst are the two teams who are competing - at national level - for the executive leadership of the future: Congress and BJP. However, the Hindu nationalists have the worst criminal record: out of six candidates, four (67%) are defendants in cases of rape, criminal intimidation and extortion. Regards Congress, three out of seven candidates (43%) have trials still pending.
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