Gandhinagar: Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tops the list of candidates with criminal cases among major political parties in the fray in the Gujarat assembly election this year with 36 percent of its candidates having criminal cases. Thirty percent of AAP candidates are facing serious cases such as murder, rape, assault, and kidnapping, among others, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in its report. The number of candidates having criminal cases fielded by the AAP is 32.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party is followed by the Congress, with 35 per cent of its candidates with criminal cases. Twenty per cent of such candidates are facing serious cases. The number of candidates with criminal cases fielded by it in the first phase is 31, the report said.

A total of 167 candidates, out of the 788 contesting the 89 seats in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections, have criminal cases against them, with 100 of them facing serious charges like murder and rape, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Thursday. With this, 21 per cent of the candidates in fray have criminal cases against them, while 13 per cent are facing serious charges.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also contesting all seats in the first phase of the election, has fielded 14 candidates with criminal records. Percentage-wise, such candidates account for 16 percent of its total number and 12 percent are facing serious charges, the ADR said in its report.

The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), which is contesting 14 seats in the first phase, has four candidates (29 per cent) with declared criminal cases. Seven per cent of its candidates have serious criminal cases this time.