NEW DELHI: Of India’s 31 Chief Ministers of states and union territories, only 18 have a clean background with no criminal cases, while 13 CMs have criminal cases against them.
Among these, 10 face serious charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including grave allegations such as attempts to murder, bribery, and criminal intimidation.
Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has the highest number of serious criminal cases (82), including 34 cases of criminal intimidation, 25 cases related to public mischief, and 2 cases related to cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
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He is also facing charges related to assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty.
The Telugu Desam Party leader also has charges related to religious enmity and election-related offenses.
States like Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Kerala CM have relatively fewer cases against them, ranging between 1-13 total cases and 1-7 serious IPC charges.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) analyzed the affidavits provided by CMs before elections, available on the ECI website, and revealed that even the current CM of Delhi, Atishi Marleen, has a charge related to punishment for defamation.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin faces a total of 47 cases, including 11 serious IPC offenses.
These include 2 charges of assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of duty, 4 charges of making false statements during elections (IPC Section 171G), and 2 charges of promoting enmity between groups based on religion, race, or language (IPC Section 153A).
Additionally, he faces charges of kidnapping, defamation, assaulting or deterring public servants, and public mischief.
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu has 19 total cases but has a higher proportion of serious IPC charges at 32.
These include 2 charges of attempt to murder and 1 charge each of abetment of an offense punishable with death or life imprisonment and voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons.
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The Chief Minister also faces 10 charges of criminal conspiracy, 3 charges of hurt by dangerous weapons, and charges of cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
Additionally, there are 2 charges each of forgery for the purpose of cheating and using a forged document.
Other allegations include 3 charges of promoting enmity between groups, 1 charge of rioting with a deadly weapon, 6 charges of criminal intimidation, and 1 charge of public nuisance.
