West Bengal phase 3&4- 128 candidates have pending criminal cases

Out of the 763 candidates contesting phase 3 and 4 in West Bengal, 128 have declared pending criminal cases against them. The data prepared by the Association for Democratic Reforms and West Bengal Election Watch details the candidates contesting in phase 3 and phase.

In this report we provide the details of the candidates, cases pending against them and also their financial declarations before the Election Commission in their sworn affidavits.

Phase 3 of West Bengal Elections:

-Out of all the 418 candidates, 80 (19%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

-65 (16%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, theft, crimes against women etc.

-1 candidate namely Bamacharan Banerjee of CPI(M) from Bhatar constituency has declared 1 charge related to rape (Indian Penal Code Section-376).

-5 candidates have declared charges related to Murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302).

-23 candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder (IPC Section-307).

-12 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Party wise candidates with criminal cases:

15 (24%) out of 62 candidates from BJP, 20 (32%) out of 62 candidates from AITC, 16 (42%) out of 38 candidates from CPI(M), 2 (6%) out of 36 candidates of BSP, 16 (62%) out of 26 candidates fielded by INC, and 3 (4%) out of 70 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

11 (18%) out of 62 candidates from BJP, 18 (29%) out of 62 candidates from AITC, 12 (32%) out of 38 candidates from CPI(M), 2 (6%) out of 36 candidates of BSP, 14 (54%) out of 26 candidates fielded by INC, and 2 (3%) out of 70 Independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Financial details in Phase 3:

61 or (15%) candidates of the 418 contesting candidates in Phase 3 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections have declared assets worth over Rs 1 Crore. 27 (44%) out of 62 candidates from AITC, 14 (23%) out of 62 candidates from the BJP, 11 (42%) out of 26 candidates from the INC, 2 (5%) out of 38 candidates from the CPI(M), 1 (100%) out of 1 candidate from RJD and 3 (4%) out of 70 Independent candidates are crorepatis.

The average of assets per candidate contesting in Phase 3 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections is Rs 74.76 Lakhs.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 62 BJP candidates is Rs 1.24 Crores, 62 AITC candidates have average assets of Rs 2.25 crores, 33 SUCI (C) candidates have average assets worth Rs 14.48 Lakhs, 26 INC candidates have average assets worth Rs 1.07 crore, average assets of 38 CPI(M) candidates are Rs 35.09 Lakhs, 36 BSP candidates have average assets of Rs 10.73 Lakhs and 70 Independent candidates have average assets of Rs. 22.32 Lakhs.

Details of Phase 4, West Bengal polls:

Pending case details:

Out of all the 345 candidates, 48 (14%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

42 (12%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, theft, crimes against women etc.

3 candidates have declared charges related to Murder (Indian Penal Code Section-302).

10 candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder (IPC Section-307).

5 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women.

7 (14%) out of 49 candidates from BJP, 15 (31%) out of 49 candidates from AITC, 6 (25%) out of 24 candidates from CPI(M), 1 (5%) out of 22 candidates of SUCI(C), 6 (50%) out of 12 candidates fielded by INC, and 6 (6%) out of 96 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

6 (12%) out of 49 candidates from BJP, 15 (31%) out of 49 candidates from AITC, 5 (21%) out of 24 candidates from CPI(M), 1 (5%) out of 22 candidates of SUCI(C), 3 (25%) out of 12 candidates fielded by INC, and 5 (5%) out of 96 Independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Financial Background

46 or (13%) candidates of the 345 contesting candidates in Phase 4 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections have declared assets worth over Rs 1 Crore. 19 (39%) out of 49 candidates from AITC, 8 (16%) out of 49 candidates from the BJP, 5 (42%) out of 12 candidates from the INC, 3 (13%) out of 24 candidates from the CPI(M), 1 (5%) out of 22 candidate from SUCI(C) and 7 (7%) out of 96 Independent candidates are crorepatis.

The average of assets per candidate contesting in Phase 4 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections is Rs 50.02 Lakhs.

Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 49 BJP candidates is Rs 69.57 Lakhs, 49 AITC candidates have average assets of Rs 1.38 crores, 22 SUCI (C) candidates have average assets worth Rs 17.34 Lakhs, 12 INC candidates have average assets worth Rs 1.47 crore, average assets of 24 CPI(M) candidates are Rs 52.24 Lakhs, 7 AIFB candidates have average assets of Rs 76.30 Lakhs and 96 Independent candidates have average assets of Rs. 17.87 Lakhs.