About 30% candidates, i.e. 1,038 out of 3,450 candidates, in Bihar poll fray have criminal cases against them, as per the affidavits filed by them while submitting their nomination papers. During the 2010 assembly election, out of 3,058 candidates analyzed, 986 (32%) had declared criminal cases against them.

Bihar Election Watch (BEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analyzed the affidavits of all the 3,450 candidates. There are 273 (8%) female candidates contesting the polls this year, against 307 (9%) out of 3,523 candidates in 2010.

Altogether 796 (23%) candidates have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women etc against them. In the 2010 assembly election in Bihar, 560 (18%) out of the total 3,058 candidates analyzed had declared serious criminal cases against them, said BEW state coordinator Rajiv Kumar.

Sixty-two (39%) out of 157 candidates from BJP, 41 (41%) out of 101 candidates fielded by JD (U), 47 (47%) out of 101 candidates of RJD, 12 (29%) out of 41 candidates fielded by Congress and 212 (18%) out of 1,150 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against them in their affidavits.

Fifty-eight candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women against them. Eight out of these 58 candidates have declared a case of rape (under Section 376 of the IPC) against them.