AT LEAST 59 of the 81 newly elected members of the Jharkhand provincial assembly in eastern India face criminal prosecution in cases ranging from murder and kidnapping to extortion and corruption.
Reports from the state capital, Ranchi, showed that of these 59, 26 legislators were being prosecuted for “serious charges” such as murder. However, such cases are unlikely to reach fruition for decades in India’s notoriously inefficient, corrupt and highly politicised judicial system.
Indian election rules do not prevent those charged in criminal cases from standing for office; they only bar those who have been convicted. Even state chief minister designate Shibu Soren, expected to be sworn into office today as head of a coalition government, was convicted of murder three years ago and faces several other criminal charges.
In 2006 Mr Soren was found guilty of conspiracy in the 1994 kidnapping and murder of his former private secretary, who was blackmailing his boss for taking bribes.
Mr Soren spent several months in jail before his life sentence was surprisingly quashed.
“While these facts regarding Jharkhand’s politicians may shock many, the reality is that they are a way of life in the state, which is one of the poorest, most backward and highly corrupt,” political columnist Seema Mustafa said.
Criminality and corruption in politics are the norm in India, she added, with assets of some of the re-elected Jharkhand legislators having grown 262 per cent since the last provincial polls in 2005.
State legislators are not the only ones battling criminal cases, with 153 of 545 MPs elected earlier this year similarly compromised.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch, 74 of those 153 MPs were accused of crimes such as murder and gang war.