By IANS,
New Delhi : Nearly 300 candidates with criminal records from different political parties are fighting the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 23, with the Congress party topping the list with 40, according to a survey.
According to an analysis by an NGO, National Election Watch, of the 1,425 candidates in the fray for the second phase, 288 have criminal records.
The first phase had 222 candidates with criminal records.
In the second phase, the Bahujan Samaj Party with 31 comes second, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is third with 27 and the Samajwadi Party has 13 such candidates.
Among the states, Bihar tops the list with 60 candidates with criminal backgrounds followed by Maharashtra with 58, Uttar Pradesh with 39 and Jharkhand with 34 such candidates.
Polling in the second phase will be held in 13 states.