Nearly 45% of India’s Chief Ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) based on election affidavits. The report found that 14 of the 31 Chief Ministers currently in office have pending criminal cases.
Among them, 11 Chief Ministers have declared serious criminal cases involving charges such as attempt to murder, corruption, offences against women and other grave allegations under the Indian Penal Code and various special laws.
Out of the 14 Chief Ministers with pending criminal cases identified in the report, the article explicitly names 11 of them, though not all face serious charges. A total of 11 CMs across the country are booked under serious offences—such as attempt to murder, assault, bribery, and criminal intimidation—with the named leaders facing serious charges including A. Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Suvendu Adhikari (West Bengal), D.K. Shivakumar (Karnataka), N. Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), V.D. Satheesan (Kerala), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), and P.S. Tamang (Sikkim); conversely, three of the named leaders—C. Joseph Vijay (Tamil Nadu), Mohan Charan Majhi (Odisha), and Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan)—are explicitly cited as exceptions who have cases pending but no serious offences lodged against them.
The findings are based entirely on self-declared affidavits submitted by candidates during elections and do not indicate guilt or conviction. Under Indian law, criminal cases remain allegations unless proven in a court of law.
The report has once again highlighted concerns over the criminalisation of politics in India, prompting renewed discussions on electoral reforms, candidate transparency and the role of voters in strengthening democratic accountability.
