New Delhi: Nearly half of the newly-elected Lok Sabha members have criminal charges against them, a 26% increase as compared to 2014, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Of the 539 winning candidates analysed by the ADR, as many as 233 MPs or 43% have criminal charges.

The BJP has 116 MPs or 39% of its winning candidates with criminal cases, followed by 29 MPs (57%) from the Congress, 13 (81%) from the JDU, 10 (43%) from the DMK and nine (41%) from the TMC, the ADR said.

In 2014, 185 Lok Sabha members (34%) had criminal charges and 112 MPs had serious criminal cases against them.