Thirty-four per cent of the candidates in the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra have criminal cases filed against them.

The October 15 assembly election is set to witness a tough fight between Congress, BJP, MNS, Shiv Sena and NCP.

Of the 2,336 candidates vying in the elections, nearly 798 of them have criminal cases registered against them, according to Maharashtra Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms.

Nearly 49 per cent of 1,318 candidates (640 candidates) of Congress, BJP, MNS, Shiv Sena and NCP themselves have declared regarding criminal cases against them.

A total of 537 (23%) candidates have given information about their cases involving murder, kidnapping, igniting communal tensions and crime against women.

There are about 156 assembly constituencies where a minimum of three candidates in each constituency have criminal cases against them. These constituencies have been declared "Red Alert" areas.

Some of these constituencies include Uran, Kalina, Anu Shakti Nagar and Bandra East where seven candidates in each place have criminal cases against them.

Crorepati candidates: Out of 2,336 candidates, 1,095 (47%) candidates are crorepatis. Out of 1,318 candidates from Congress, BJP, MNS, Shiv Sena and NCP, 958 (73%) are crorepatis. BJP's Mohit Kamboj, who will contest from Dhindori, has total assets of Rs.353 crore. The average wealth of each of the candidate is Rs.4.65 crore. In last assembly polls, it was Rs.2.81 crore. Fourteen candidates have declared that they possess no property.

Education status: Eleven candidates have declared that they are uneducated. Nearly 1,276 candidates are 12th pass, whereas 985 candidates are graduates.