Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Odisha Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analyzed the self-sworn affidavits of the candidates running in the six Parliamentary Constituencies of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Puri, and Sambalpur on May 25 and found that up to 18 (28%) of them had filed criminal cases against them. In a similar vein, thirteen (20%) of the contenders have filed significant criminal complaints against themselves.
In addition, four candidates have reported crimes pertaining to attempts to commit murder (IPC Section 307) against themselves, while one candidate has declared offenses linked to murder (IPC Section 302). In addition, four candidates have disclosed incidents involving crimes against women.
The following are the requirements for serious criminal cases: 1. An offense for which a five-year maximum sentence applies. 2. If a crime is not subject to bail. 3. Should it constitute an electoral offense (such as bribery or IPC 171E), 4. Offense connected to exchequer loss 5. Crimes involving assault, rape, murder, and kidnapping 6. Violations listed in Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act. 7. The Prevention of Corruption Act Offenses 8. Crimes directed towards women.
