One is facing a murder charge, another arrested for abduction, while a third is fighting a robbery case. Welcome to India's general election, where nearly a fifth of 5,500 candidates face criminal charges. The Indian constitution allows politicians facing criminal cases to contest polls, and critics say mafia dons and corrupt regional bosses are using their money and power to garner votes. Fear and reverence for politicians facing criminal charges play heavily in the minds of voters in India. These candidates sometimes control large areas where state facilities are lacking. At some places, they have won an image of “Robin Hood” by fixing low charges for services like doctors' fees. Experts say it reflects how corruption and politics have co-existed in India for decades, undermining transparency and efficiency in governance and implementation. “Criminals see this as a business opportunity to make money and gain a foothold in politics, while parties depend on them to win elections,” Himanshu Jha, coordinator of Social Watch India, a rights organization, said. A famous conversation that media mogul Rupert Murdoch had with the late Dhirubhai Ambani, then one of India's biggest businessmen, illustrates the bond between politics and crime in India as reported in the book “In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India” by Edward Luce. The ruling Congress party has 100 candidates facing criminal charges and the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 98 candidates, according to the National Election Watch, an umbrella group for independent poll monitoring agencies. Village heroes? A quarter of India's 543 elected members in parliament already have criminal cases pending against them, according to Social Watch India. More than half the cases are serious in nature, and include murder and rape, the group says. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, widely seen as one of India's most corrupt states run by near feudal leaders, regional strongman Mukhtar Ansari is contesting the election from his cell in a high security prison, where he is facing trial for murder. He has a dozen murder cases against him.
