Delhi Assembly polls: Kejriwal, Amanatullah Khan, Satyendar Jain among 5 candidates with criminal cases

New Delhi: As voting for the high-octane Delhi Assembly Polls begins, Amanatullah Khan, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Okhla constituency, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi constituency, and AAP candidate from Shakur Basti Satyendar Jain are among the top 5 candidates with criminal cases pending against them.

Out of 105 political parties that are contesting the election, 22 political parties have been analyzed whose candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, for this report.

Khan has 19 criminal cases pending against him. However, the reasons he was selected are because he is an MLA with a good reputation among the masses & the cases are politically motivated. Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency has 15 criminal cases pending against him. He is the Ex-Chief Minister and Party National Convener with a good reputation among the masses & the cases are politically motivated.

Among the top 5 candidates with criminal cases pending against them, four are from AAP and one MLA candidate is from All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has analysed Format C7 of 118 out of 699 candidates, who declared criminal cases against themselves and are contesting in the Delhi Assembly Election 2025 (excluding independent candidates).

In the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, there are 699 candidates in the fray, with the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress fielding 70 candidates each, while the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded 68 candidates, giving two seats to its allies — JD(U) and LJP. In the national capital’s seat of power — New Delhi constituency where Arvind Kejriwal is fighting to retain his seat, the BJP and Congress have fielded sons of former Chief Ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh and Sandeep Dikshit, respectively.

Out of 105 political parties that are contesting the election, 22 political parties have been analyzed whose candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves, for this report.

Candidates analyzed:

Of 699 contesting candidates analyzed, 118 candidates belonging to the aforementioned political parties have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases:

Out of 118 candidates with declared criminal cases, 71 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Only 5 out of 22 analyzed parties have made their candidates Format C7 publicly available. The parties include AAP, INC, BJP, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen, and National Loktantrik Party.

Reasons furnished:

Out of 118 candidates with criminal cases, reasons have been furnished for 94 (80%) candidates.

Out of 71 candidates with serious criminal cases, reasons have been furnished for 54 (76%) candidates.

For 24 (20%) candidates with criminal backgrounds, no reasons for their selection have been provided by political parties.

Reasons given for the top 5 candidates with the highest number of total criminal cases pending.