Half the city’s 27 recontesting MLAs have criminal charges against them. Mumbai Votes, an online resource that tracks elected representatives, has counted 13 with such cases.

It has devised a grading system that marks Sada Sarvankar, former Sena MLA who joined the Congress, with the highest degree of criminal records. Next are gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli (Akhil Bharatiya Sena) and Bala Nandgaonkar (MNS).

Most MLAs with criminal records are from the Sena-BJP, exceptions being Ashok Jadav, Bhai Jagtap and Sachir Ahir of the Congress-NCP.

“Ascribing importance to the number of charges is akin to estimating the effect of natural calamities by counting their occurrences. The criminal record analysis has been done on the basis of the gravity of offences rather than the number of charges,” said Vivek Gilani, founder of Mumbai Votes.

Candidates have been graded on a scale of 1 to 5 for every offence depending on its gravity. A grade of 5 covers every serious offence of murder, attempt to murder, culpable murder and causing suicide. A grade of 2 covers every relatively minor charge like dishonesty or cheating.

Sarvankar, contesting from Mahim, has a total grade of 132. As per his affidavit, he faces charges of causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, joining an unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon, rioting, attempt to murder and many others.

Gawli, lodged in jail for a murder and extortion case, has been graded at 108. The Chinchpokli MLA, recontesting from Byculla, has a slew of pending cases that include criminal conspiracy, murder, theft, criminal intimidation, extortion by putting a person in fear of death and rioting armed with deadly weapons.

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