Over 200 candidates from main parties in Telangana polls have criminal cases against them, says NGO

Hyderabad, Nov 21 (PTI) As many as 226 candidates from major political parties contesting in the assembly elections in Telangana have criminal cases against them, according to the Forum for Good Governance, a not-for-profit organisation.

The NGO said in a release that '71 per cent of candidates contesting from Congress, 70 per cent from BJP, 48 per cent candidates belonging to the BRS and about 50 per cent of AIMIM candidates' have pending cases against them.

A committee from the organisation took the affidavits filed by the candidates as the basis for an analysis of their criminal cases, following which a report was prepared, FGG president M Padmanabha Reddy said.

'In our analysis, some candidates have cases from the Telangana agitation and some have criminal cases, while a few others have both types of cases,' Reddy said.

Some cases have been pending for the past 15 to 20 years, he added.

Political parties gave tickets to winnable candidates irrespective of their criminal record, he said, adding 'This is not good for our democracy'. PTI VVK VVK ANE