UP and Bihar have most MLAs with kidnapping cases, says study

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a maximum number of MLAs with declared charges related to kidnapping against them. Both states lead the tally with nine each, closely followed by Maharashtra which has eight such MLAs.

Among the political parties, BJP has most lawmakers who have declared such cases against themselves in their affidavits submitted to the Election Commission at the time of filing nomination papers.

NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) have analysed the affidavits of 4,856 sitting MPs/MLAs, including 770 MPs and 4,086 MLAs. Out of these 4,856 MPs/MLAs, 1,024 (21%) have declared serious criminal charges against themselves. Among these 1,024 MPs/MLAs, 64 (6%) have declared charges related to kidnapping against themselves.

Out of 64 MPs/MLAs with declared charges related to kidnapping, 17 belong to political parties (National, Regional and Unrecognised parties) while 4 MPs/ MLAs are independents. It is to be noted that among the top, 16 are from BJP while 6 each from INC and RJD.

NCP has five followed by BJD, DMK with four each such lawmakers. SP and TDP, too, have three each.

Among the states with most MLAs who have declared kidnapping related charges, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh lead with nine each. They are followed by Maharashtra with eight MLAs. West Bengal has six, Odisha and Tamil Nadu have four each. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have three such MLAs each.

The report says there are five Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs who have declared charges related to kidnapping against themselves. Among the Lok Sabha MPs, two are from RJD and one from LJP while the third one is independent. In the Rajya Sabha, BJP, Shiv Sena and Samajwadi Party have one MP each with declared charges related to kidnapping.