A new report reveals that a significant portion of candidates in the West Bengal Assembly elections are facing criminal charges, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and candidate selection.
Nearly 23 per cent of the candidates contesting the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report released on Thursday by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and West Bengal Election Watch.
Among the major parties, the BJP has the highest share of candidates with criminal cases, with 106 out of 152 nominees (70 per cent) declaring such cases in their affidavits.
Out of the 148 candidates the ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded, 63 have criminal cases (43 per cent), while 43 of the 98 candidates of the CPI(M) and 39 of the 151 nominees of the Congress have also declared criminal antecedents.
"Data again shows that parties continue to give preference to winnability over clean public life despite repeated court directions," a representative associated with the report said.
The analysis, based on self-sworn affidavits of 1,475 of the 1,478 candidates contesting in 152 constituencies going to polls on April 23, said 345 aspirants have declared pending criminal cases, and 294 have disclosed serious criminal charges.
The report said 19 candidates have declared cases related to murder, while 105 have reported cases of attempt to murder. As many as 98 candidates have disclosed cases related to crimes against women, including six who have declared rape-related charges.
The study also identified 66 constituencies, or 43 per cent of those going to polls in the first phase, as "red alert constituencies", where three or more candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
On the financial side, the report said 309 candidates, or 21 per cent of those analysed, are crorepatis. The average assets of candidates in the first phase stand at Rs 1.34 crore, with candidates of the Trinamool Congress reporting the highest average assets among major parties at Rs 5.70 crore.
The report also pointed to the low representation of women in the contest, noting that only 167 women, or 11 per cent of the total candidates, are contesting in the first phase of the election.
The elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases, on April 23 and 29. Counting is scheduled on May 4.