The 18th Lok Sabha will see about 280 MPs who have been elected for the first time, an increase from the 2019 elections when 267 members were first-time MPs.

A total of 263 newly elected MPs have previously served as members of Lok Sabha. Additionally, 16 MPs have been members of Rajya Sabha, and one MP has served seven terms in Lok Sabha, according to think-tank PRS Legislative Research.

Of the re-elected MPs, eight changed their constituency, and one was re-elected from two constituencies.  Nine re-elected MPs represented a different party in the 17th Lok Sabha, while eight others represented a party that split from their earlier party. Out of the 53 ministers who contested, 35 have won.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest party in the new Lok Sabha with 240 seats. The next largest party is the Indian National Congress (INC) with 99 seats, followed by the Samajwadi Party with 37 seats.

Moreover, the average age of MPs elected to the 18th Lok Sabha is 56 years, a slight dip from 59 years in the 17th Lok Sabha, according to an analysis by think tank PRS Legislative Research.

According to the analysis, the average age of MPs elected to the 18th Lok Sabha is 56 years. The average age was 59 years in the 17th Lok Sabha.

It said 11 per cent of the MPs are aged 40 or below, and 38 per cent are between the age of 41 and 55. About 52 per cent of the MPs are aged above 55 and the oldest MP is 82 years old.

The Samajwadi Party’s Pushpendra Saroj and Priya Saroj became the youngest candidates to win the Lok Sabha polls at the age of 25, while the DMK’s T R Baalu (82) was the oldest candidate to win.

Also, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections witnessed an increase in political parties’ participation, with candidates from 41 parties being elected, compared to 36 in the 2019 general election.

According to an analysis by the think-tank PRS, national parties secured 346 seats, accounting for 64 per cent of the total, while the state-recognised parties won 179 seats, representing 33 per cent. Unrecognised parties clinched 11 seats, and independents won seven.

 According to an analysis by the poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms(ADR), there has been a 104 per cent rise in the number of political parties from 2009 to 2024.  In 2024, a total of 751 parties participated, compared to 677 in 2019, 464 in 2014, and 368 in 2009.

The ADR and National Election Watch conducted a comprehensive review of the self-sworn affidavits of 8,337 candidates contesting the just concluded elections.

The candidate pool comprises 1,333 from national parties, 532 from state parties, 2,580 from registered unrecognised parties, and 3,915 independent candidates.

As many as 251 (46 per cent) of the 543 newly elected Lok Sabha members have criminal cases registered against them and 27 of them have been convicted, according to an analysis by ADR. This is the highest number of candidates facing criminal charges to be elected to the Lower House.

A total of 233 MPs (43 per cent) had declared criminal cases against themselves, 185 (34 per cent) in 2014, 162 (30 per cent) in 2009 and 125 (23 per cent) in 2004.

According to the analysis, there has been a 55 per cent increase in the number of MPs with declared criminal cases since 2009.

Of the 251 winning candidates this year, 170 (31 per cent) face serious criminal cases, including rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women.

This is also an increase from 159 (29 per cent) MPs in 2019, 112 (21 per cent) MPs in 2014, and 76 (14 per cent) MPs in 2009, the analysis showed. There has been a 124 per cent increase in the number of MPs with declared serious criminal cases since 2009, it said.

The analysis also highlights specific cases among the winning candidates.  While 27 winning candidates have declared they have been convicted in criminal cases, four declared cases related to murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 27 declared cases related to attempt to murder under Section 307 of the IPC.

Fifteen winning candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, including two facing charges of rape under IPC Section 376.

Additionally, four winning candidates have declared cases related to kidnapping and 43 have declared cases related to hate speech.

The chances of winning for a candidate with declared criminal cases in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections stood at 15.3 per cent, compared to just 4.4 per cent for candidates with a clean background, the analysis found.

Of the 240 winning candidates of the BJP, which emerged as the largest party in the 18th Lok Sabha, 94 (39 per cent) have declared criminal cases, according to the ADR.

Forty-nine (49 per cent) of the Congress’ 99 winning candidates have declared criminal cases and 21 (45 per cent) of the Samajwadi Party’s 37 candidates face criminal charges.

Thirteen (45 per cent) of the TMC’s 29, 13 (59 per cent) of the DMK’s 22, eight (50 per cent) of the TDP’s 16, and five (71 per cent) of the Shiv Sena’s seven winning candidates have declared criminal cases.

Sixty-three (26 per cent) BJP candidates, 32 (32 per cent) Congress candidates and 17 (46 per cent) SP candidates have declared serious criminal cases, the analysis found.

Seven (24 per cent) TMC candidates, six (27 per cent) DMK candidates, five (31 per cent) TDP candidates, and four (57 per cent) Shiv Sena candidates face serious criminal cases, it stated.