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At least 25 per cent of the candidates contesting in phase-2 of elections in Bengal have criminal cases against them, according to a report by the West Bengal Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The BJP has the highest number of such candidates; followed by the Trinamool Congress.
The second phase of polls in the State will be held on April 1 across 30 constituencies.
Of the 171 candidates in the fray, 43 have criminal cases. This include 17 candidates of the BJP (30 per cent) and eight from the Trinamool (27 per cent), the report stated.
Eleven candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.
One of the candidates — Manoranjan Patra of the CPI(M) from Taldangra — has declared cases related to murder (IPC- Sec 302); six candidates have attempt to murder cases slapped against them.
Crorepati contestants
There are 26 crorepati candidates, out of the 171 candidates. So 15 out of every 100 candidate is a crorepati.
In the TMC, 11 of the 30 candidates (37 per cent) are crorepatis, while 10 of the BJP (33 per cent) candidates are crorepatis.
The average assets per candidate contesting in the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 Phase 2 is around ₹93 lakh.
Former IPS officer and BJP candidate from Debra, Bharati Ghosh, has the highest declared asset of over ₹19 crore, the report states.
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