India
oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P
New Delhi, Apr 12: Of the 306 candidates contesting in the sixth phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls, 28 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report by poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The West Bengal Election Watch and the ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all the 306 candidates in 43 constituencies, who are contesting in the sixth phase of the West Bengal polls to be held on April 22. “Of the 306 candidates, 87 (28 per cent) have declared criminal cases and 71 (23 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves,” the ADR said.
Among the major parties, 14 of the 23 (61 per cent) candidates from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), 25 of the 43 (58 per cent) candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 24 of the 43 (56 per cent) candidates from the Trinamool Congress (TMC)…