Chennai: The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has reported that the AIADMK ranks first in terms of the number of candidates with criminal backgrounds, followed by Pattalai Makkal Katchi (PMK) in second position. Among the candidates contesting the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections, 18 percent possess a criminal background, while 10 percent have a serious criminal background, according to the NGO’s analysis.
Party-wise breakdown of criminal background
When analysed on a party-wise basis, 38 percent of candidates from the AIADMK (60/170), followed by PMK 33 % (6/18), 27 percent from the BJP (9/33) puts the saffron party third position. 19 percent from the TVK (43/231)and and 20 of CPI (1/5), 18 percent from the DMK (32/175) have criminal backgrounds. On the hand, Congress 18% (5/28), DMDK 10% (1/10) and CMP 0%.
The AIADMK leads the list regarding criminal backgrounds; specifically, it has been revealed that 13 of its candidates face murder charges, 44 face charges of attempted murder, and 18 face charges related to crimes against women out of its total 157 candidates.
Serious criminal cases
An analysis of candidates with serious criminal backgrounds, conducted on a party basis, revealed that serious criminal cases are pending against 60 candidates from the AIADMK, 43 from the TVK, 32 from the DMK, 9 from the BJP, 6 from the PMK, 5 from the Congress, and one from the DMDK.
Overall candidate statistics
With 4,023 candidates contesting the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections, the ADR and the National Election Watch analysed the affidavits of 3,992 candidates and subsequently released a report. According to the report, 722 candidates possess a criminal background, while 404 candidates have a serious criminal background. Compared to the 2021 elections, the number of candidates with criminal backgrounds has risen from 13 percent to 18 percent.
Leema Rose tops richest candidate list with ₹5,863 Crore; Vijay second, Adhav Arjuna third: ADR
There are 981 millionaire candidates in the fray in the Tamil Nadu elections. Among them, 22 candidates possess assets exceeding ₹100 crore. Topping this list is Leema Rose, the AIADMK candidate contesting from the Lalgudi constituency, with assets worth ₹5,863 crore. TVK leader Vijay ranks second with ₹648 crore, while Adhav Arjuna stands third with ₹534 crore.
Regarding educational qualifications, 46 percent of the candidates hold a degree, while 95 candidates are illiterate. In terms of age, 36 percent of the candidates fall within the 25 to 40 age group, while 51 percent are between 41 and 60 years old.
Women candidates
With 442 women contesting in this election, the Naam Tamilar Katchi has fielded the highest proportion of female candidates, allocating 50 percent of its tickets to women.
Voting for all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu is scheduled to take place in a single phase on April 23. A total of 4,023 candidates—comprising nominees from political parties as well as independent candidates—are contesting in this election.