Modi, Advani among 10 Gujarat MPs facing criminal cases

Narendra Modi and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani are among the 10 members of Parliament elected from Gujarat, who are facing criminal charges.

Out of the 66 candidates from Gujarat, who faced criminal charges ranging from poll code violation to attempt to murder, 10 won the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls from the state.

A FIR had been lodged against Narendra Modi on April 30 in Ahmedabad for violation of the Model Code of Conduct after he displayed a lotus, the BJP’s poll symbol, before TV cameras and addressed a press conference on the premises of the school where he cast his vote. Later, at a rally in Tirupati, Modi had said that it was the first FIR of his life and he would never forget the day. Modi won the Vadodara seat by a margin of over 5.7 lakh votes.

Former deputy prime minister L K Advani, who won the Gandhinagar seat defeating Kiritbhai Patel of Congress, is an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case of 1992.

Some other candidates who won the elections include C R Patil from Navsari, Vitthal Radadiya from Porbandar and Devji Fatepura from Surendranagar constituency. One of the richest BJP candidates from the state, C R Patil, who won Navsari Lok Sabha seat, is facing cases pertaining to financial irregularities. Three cases are pending against him before the state recovery tribunal and one is pending before the Surat judicial magistrate court. 

Vitthal Radadiya, who switched over to BJP in 2012, is facing the maximum number of criminal cases. The 10 cases, include rioting, criminal assault, damage to public property, criminal intimidation and death threats.

Other victorious candidates who are facing criminal charges include Rajesh Chudasama from Junagadh, Prabhatsinh Chauhan from Panchamhal, Naran Kachhadiya from Amreli, Prabhu Vasava from Bardoli and Dilip Patel from Anand.