In the Lok Sabha elections in Hyderabad, 34 candidates from major political parties like Congress, BRS, BJP, and AIMIM have criminal cases against them. Additionally, 33 candidates from these parties have assets worth Rs 10 crore or more. Out of 839 candidates who filed nomination papers, 314 were rejected by the Election Commission.
There are 17 Lok Sabha segments in the State with a total of 525 candidates in the fray. The Secunderabad constituency has the highest number of candidates with 45 contesting. The average number of candidates per seat is 30, which the Forum for Good Governance (FGG) Secretary M Padmanabha Reddy deems as not acceptable for democracy.
The Congress has nominated three women candidates, while BRS and BJP have two each. In terms of educational qualifications, BJP has the most postgraduates with 11, followed by Congress with 7, BRS with 5, and MIM with 1. BJP also has four graduates and two undergraduates, while Congress has four graduates and six undergraduates. BRS has four graduates and eight undergraduates. Most of the pending cases against candidates are of trivial nature as per their affidavits submitted to FGG.
Overall, the high number of candidates with criminal cases and significant assets raises concerns about the representation and integrity in the election process.
