Nearly two-thirds of Bihar MLAs have criminal cases against them, says report by poll watchdog

Nearly two-thirds of Bihar’s sitting MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, said the non-profit organisation Association for Democratic Reforms in a report released ahead of the state elections.

The report said that 158 out of 241 MLAs, or 65.5% of the legislators, had cases pending against them. Of these, 119 MLAs (49.3%) are facing serious criminal cases.

The organisation defines serious criminal cases as those involving punishment of more than five years’ jail, offences that are non-bailable and cognisable, and electoral offences, among other criteria.

Sixteen MLAs have declared cases related to murder, 30 have declared cases related to attempt to murder and eight have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Party wise, 53 out of 83 MLAs (64%) from the BJP – which is part of the ruling alliance in the state – have declared criminal cases against them. Among Janata Dal (United) legislators, 21 of 47 (45%) have declared criminal cases. Janata Dal (United) is also part of the ruling alliance.

Among the Opposition parties, 53 of 72 (74%) MLAs from the Rashtriya Janata Dal have criminal cases against them. Fourteen of 17 Congress MLAs (82%) also have criminal cases against them.

The election watchdog released the report on the criminal cases after examining the self-sworn affidavits of 241 out...

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