New Delhi: Ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, a new report has raised questions about the claims of political parties promising clean politics and strong law and order. According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Bihar Election Watch, 32 percent of the candidates contesting the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections have criminal cases against them. This means that every third candidate is tainted.
An examination of the affidavits of a total of 1,314 candidates revealed that 423 of them had criminal cases against them. 354 candidates face serious criminal charges. According to the report, 33 candidates face charges of murder, 86 of attempted murder, 42 of crimes against women, and two of rape.
Among political parties, 53 out of 70 RJD candidates have criminal cases registered against them, representing 76 percent of the total. Cases are also filed against 31 out of 48 (65 percent) BJP candidates, 15 out of 23 (65 percent) Congress candidates, 7 out of 13 (54 percent) Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidates, and 50 out of 114 (44 percent) Jansuraaj Party candidates. Twenty-two out of 57 JDU candidates, or 39 percent, have admitted to criminal cases. All three CPI candidates have cases registered against them. Parties outside Bihar are also not far behind. 18 out of 89 (20 percent) Bahujan Samaj Party candidates and 12 out of 44 (27 percent) Aam Aadmi Party candidates have tainted cases.
The report also revealed that 40 percent, or 519, of the candidates are millionaires. Furthermore, 519 candidates have a 5th- to 12th-grade education, while 651 are graduates or more. These figures clearly demonstrate that promises to give opportunities to candidates with clean reputations in Bihar politics remain far from reality. Be it the RJD, the BJP, the Congress, the Left, or Jansuraj, all have been generous in awarding tickets to those with criminal convictions.
