Nearly two thirds of winning candidates in Bihar polls have criminal cases against them: ADR

New Delhi: Nearly two-thirds of the winning candidates in the Bihar assembly elections have criminal cases lodged against them and 81 per cent are crorepatis, according to a report by poll rights group ADR (Association for Democratic Reforms). Out of the 241 winning candidates' affidavits analysed, 163 or 68 per cent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves and 123 or 51 per cent winning candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc, the report said.
Out of 243 MLAs analysed during Bihar Assembly elections in 2015, 142 or 58 per cent MLAs had declared criminal cases against themselves, it said.

The report said that nine winning candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section 302) against themselves, 31 winning candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder (IPC Section 307) and eight winning candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Among the major parties, 54 (73 per cent) out of 74 winning candidates from RJD, 47 (64 per cent) out of 73 winning candidates from BJP, 20 (47 per cent) out of 43 winning candidates from JD(U), 16 (84 per cent) out of 19 winning candidates from Congress, 10 (83 per cent) out of 12 winning candidates from CPI(ML)(L) and 5 (100 per cent) out of 5 winning candidates from AIMIM have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits, it said.

The poll rights group said 44 (60 per cent) out of 74 winning candidates from RJD, 35 (48 per cent) out of 73 winning candidates from BJP, 11 (26 per cent) out of 43 winning candidates from JD(U), 11 (58 per cent) out of 19 winning candidates from Congress, 8 (67 per cent) out of 12 winning candidates from CPI(ML)(L) and 5 (100 per cent) out of 5 winning candidates from AIMIM have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The report also gave financial details of the winning candidates.

"Out of the 241 winning candidates analysed, 194 (81 per cent) are crorepatis. Out of 243 MLAs analysed during Bihar assembly elections 2015, 162 (67 per cent) MLAs were crorepatis," it said.

Among the major parties, 65 (89 per cent) out of 73 from BJP, 64 (87 per cent) out of 74 from RJD, 38 (88 per cent) out of 43 from JD(U) and 14 (74 per cent) out of 19 from INC winning candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs 1 crore, the report said.

The ADR said the average of assets per winning candidate in the Bihar Assembly Elections 2020 is Rs 4.32 crore. The average assets of re-elected MLAs in 2015 was Rs 3.15 crore which increased by 67 per cent to Rs 5.26 crore in 2020.

The report said 82 (34 per cent) winning candidates have declared their educational qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 149 (62 per cent) winning candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate and above. There are 9 winning candidates who are literate and one winner candidate is diploma holder.

As many as 115 (48 per cent) winning candidates have declared their age to be between 25 and 50 years while 126 (52 per cent) winning candidates have declared their age to be between 51 and 80 years, the report said.

Out of 241 winning candidates analysed, 26 (11 per cent) winning candidates are women. In 2015, out of 243 MLAs, 28 (12 per cent) MLAs were women.

The Bihar assembly elections for 243 sets took place on October 28 (for 71 seats), November 3 (for 94 seats) and November 7 (for 78 seats). The National Democratic Alliance won the elections after securing majority.