A recent study reveals that 112 of the 507 candidates contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal have declared criminal cases against them.
The analysis, conducted by the West Bengal Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), scrutinized affidavits submitted to the Election Commission (EC).
Among these 112 candidates, 97 are men and 15 are women, with 92 facing serious criminal charges. Leading the list is BJP's Barrackpore candidate, Arjun Singh, with a staggering 93 cases. Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, contesting from Burdwan-Durgapur, follows with 27 cases.
Other notable candidates with multiple cases include Santanu Thakur (Bangaon) with 23 cases, Locket Chatterjee (Hooghly) with 22, and BJP's West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar, contesting from Balurghat, with 16.
The study also highlights the wealth of these candidates, revealing that 128 of the 507 contestants possess assets exceeding Rs 1 crore.
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has the highest number of crorepati candidates at 35, followed by BJP with 29, CPI(M) with 11, Congress with 10, and SUCI(C) with three.
Additionally, 17 Independent candidates and 23 others also belong to the crorepati club.
Educational qualifications among the candidates vary, with 211 declaring education levels between 5th and 12th standard, while 271 hold graduate or higher degrees.
Eleven candidates are diploma holders, 12 are just literate, and two are illiterate, according to the study.
The TMC has 11 candidates with serious criminal charges among its 42 nominees. The CPIM and Congress follow with nine and three such candidates, respectively.
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