Candidates with criminal records are unlikely to support initiatives for the rule of law in the country. They will do everything possible to ensure that the forces of law and order are hampered to protect their interests. Parties that field such candidates do so to gain from caste or communal interests, or to use the criminal associations of such candidates to force voters to vote for them--such parties do not favor development, education or change for the better. These parties should be derecognized forthwith in all elections--local, state or national. Independent candidates with criminal antecedents should not be allowed to contest--their names should be removed from the ballot papers.