By IANS,
New Delhi : As many as 116 candidates contesting the Bihar elections, out of 268 whose affidavits were made available, have criminal cases pending against them, an NGO said here.
The five major parties — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) — have so far declared 526 candidates.
Forty-one of 66 BJP candidates whose affidavits were available have criminal cases pending against them, according to NGO National Election Watch which got the data from the Election Commission.
Of 31 Congress candidates, nine have criminal cases against them.
Of those whose details are available, a third of JD-U candidates,
13 LJP candidates and nearly 40 percent of RJD candidates fall in the same bracket.
Several of the tainted candidates have been accused of murder, assault and wrongful restraint.
Bihar will elect a new assembly Oct 21-Nov 20. The results will be out Nov 24.