UP Election 2022: Chunaav Pe Charcha | EJ In-depth: Crime and Politics - A marriage of convenience in UP?

Our films and TV shows have taken this image of the Baahubali neta and milked it for all it’s worth to light up our silver screens and talk about the ‘bad boy politician’. It can be surely argued that the muse for these characters played a pivotal role in Uttar Pradesh’s rich political history, and perhaps, continue to do so even today.

Let’s take a look at criminality in UP politics, and if Gunda raj is a real thing!

Taking a look at these elections:

Of the candidates analysed from the first 5 phases:

790 have criminal cases against them. 607 have serious criminal cases. 50 have cases related to crimes against women and of the 292 constituencies, 154 are Red Alert constituencies - which means 3 or more candidates contesting have criminal charges against them.

In the major parties - the BJP has fielded 120 candidates with criminal cases against them, BSP 111, INC 118, and Samajwadi Party in clear lead with a whopping 159.

It would be an incomplete conversation if one were to talk about Gunda Raaj without mentioning that it's Samajwadi Party who's been infamous for allegedly allowing its leaders to get away with anything - literally. Even the latest recruits into the SP are from the Tiwari clan - where Patriarch Hari Shankar Tiwari is credited with founding the crime politics nexus in UP in the 80s. Some even go as far as to say that this heightened period of criminality in politics ushered in a change of regime in UP.

It would make sense that a government so against crime, wouldn’t want its poster boy to be a person accused of hate speech, rioting, arson, defiling places of worship and attempt to murder.

But....

Well....

Yogi government exonerates Yogi government

Shortly after coming to power in 2017, the Yogi government told the Allahabad High Court that the government has denied permission for the prosecution of the CM in a 2007 case of hate speech made during the Gorakhpur riots. The UP govt also ordered the withdrawal of a 1995 case related to defying prohibitory orders against CM Yogi and 14 others.

Nearly 400 people accused of arson, assault and vandalism during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots were off the hook as the Yogi government recommended withdrawal of prosecution in 75 cases lodged against them. 20,000 cases against several leaders were taken back - reasoning? - they were politically motivated and not serious.

Yogi Adityanath's 2009 Lok Sabha Affidavit showed 3 declared criminal cases, in 2014 this was 2, today in 2022 - there are none.

Let’s take a look at the sitting MLAs in the UP Vidhan Sabha today. Out of 396 sitting MLAs, 140 (35%) MLAs have declared criminal cases against them. 106 (27%) have declared serious criminal cases. For example BJP MLA from Agra South Yogendra Upadhyay has an attempt to murder charge against him. Mukhtar Ansari of the BSP who is currently in prison, has 5 charges of murder against him - these are just 2 of the 106 examples.

If the wheels of money and crime go hand in hand - one can reason why political parties field those with criminal antecedents on their ballots - but what's the reasoning for those ticking the ballots?

Criminal records do not deter votes.

On the contrary, the ‘Baahubali neta’ enjoys the 'saviour of the community' perception.

For the Indian voter, politics is a dirty game- an aggressive sport where arm-twisting is in the rulebook, bullying is acceptable, cunning gets bonus points and ends always justify the means.

Hence, criminality is just not that much of a deterrent

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