The Indian coalition led by Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav may face a setback if the Uttar Pradesh legislator is found guilty.
Lucknow:
At least six newly elected lawmakers from the India bloc and one more face criminal charges that could carry prison terms of more than two years.
If this were to happen, these lawmakers would be at risk of losing their eligibility to serve as members of Parliament.
Afzal Ansari, who won the Ghazipur seat, is already serving a four-year prison sentence in a gangsters case. Last month, the Allahabad High Court stayed his conviction, allowing him to stand in elections. The case is scheduled to be heard in July when the courts resume their summer break.
If the court ultimately upholds the conviction, Ansari will be ineligible to serve as a member of the Indian parliament.
Dharmendra Yadav, who won the Azamgarh seat, also has four cases pending in his name and if he is convicted for more than two years, he too could lose his parliamentary status.
Babu Singh Kushwaha, who won from Jaunpur constituency, ending a decade-long political exile, is facing multiple cases linked to the NRHM scam that took place during the Mayawati government in which he was a minister. He has been charged in eight of the 25 cases filed against him.
Rambuar Nishad, who won the Sultanpur seat by defeating BJP’s Maneka Gandhi, has eight cases against him, including under the Gangsters Act. He is also one of the “vulnerable” candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Birendra Singh, who defeated former minister Mahendra Nath Pandey in Chandauli Assembly constituency, is also one of the Social Democratic Party candidates facing a criminal case. His conviction may also come as bad news for him.
Imran Masood, the Congress candidate elected from Saharanpur constituency, has eight cases registered against him, including one for money laundering by the ED. Two cases have been filed against him.
Chandra Shekhar Azad, the seventh Azad Samaj Party candidate from Nagina constituency, has more than 30 cases against him, and if he is convicted in any of them and sentenced to more than two years in prison, it could have a detrimental effect on his political career.
Notably, several political leaders have lost their party membership after being convicted in criminal cases.
Prominent among them are SP’s Mohammed Azam Khan, his son Abdullah Azam, Kaboo Tiwari, Bikram Saini, Ram Dulal Gond, Kuldeep Sengar and Ashok Chandel, all of whom are BJP members.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
