Lok Sabha 2024: How to know if your candidate has any criminal record? EC says...

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule released: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Saturday that political parties will have to explain the rationale for selecting candidates with criminal background. He said this while informing about the "Know your candidate" application where citizens can get information about the candidate contesting in their constituency.

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Kumar said the candidates with criminal records must inform the public about it by publishing the information three times in a newspaper, and run on TV channels."Political parties also have to tell why they chose a candidate with a criminal background to contest," he said. 

"Tell what us what is the basis of the selection of a candidate with a criminal background," Kumar said.

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Where can you find details of candidates in your constituency?

The Chief Election Commissioner said a voter “can know what kind of a candidate you have in your constituency who is contesting”.

“Whether the candidate has a criminal background, whether there are criminal cases against him, or what are their assets and liabilities - voters have the right to have all these information through the KYC app,” he said.

Voters can also find details about candidates on Voter Helpline app.

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Step-by-step guide to Voter Helpline app

Step 1: Download Voter Helpline app from Playstore or App Store

Step 2: Tap “candidate information” on the screen

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Step-by-step guide to KYC app

Step 1: Download KYC (Know Your Candidate) app from Play store or App Store

Step 2: You can either search the candidate by name or by state/constituency

Step 3: To search by state and constituency, tap “criteria” on the app, select  Parliamentary Constituency (general) for Lok Sabha elections, Assembly Constituency (general) for assembly elections to Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. Options are also available for bye-elections, with code ‘Bye’ before Parliamentary Constituency and Assembly Constituency.

Step 4: Selects State and constituency, and submit. You'll find the list of candidates for that particular constituency.