25% Of Phase-1 Bengal Election Candidates Declared Criminal Cases: Report

According to the report, about 48 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves while 42 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Forty-eight of the 191 candidates contesting the first phase of assembly elections in West Bengal on March 27 or a little over 25 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms. On the education details of candidates, ADR said 96 (50 per cent) candidates have declared their educational qualifications to be between class 5 and 12 while 92 (48 per cent) candidates have declared to be graduates or above. Three candidates are diploma holders. The West Bengal Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 191 candidates, who are contesting in the first phase. According to their report, about 48 (25 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves while 42 (22 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.