Thirty-two per cent of candidates contesting in Phase II of the Bihar Assembly elections have declared criminal cases, while 26 per cent face serious charges.
Sixty per cent of constituencies fall into the ‘red alert’ category, which means three or more candidates in these seats face criminal cases.
Despite the Supreme Court’s 2020 directive prohibiting political parties from fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds, these figures persist for candidates in the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections.
Tripurari Kumar Tiwari, a Jan Suraaj Party candidate, faces 22 criminal cases against him alone. Furthermore, 60 per cent of the constituencies fall under the red alert mark, which means that three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.
As in the first phase of the elections, the Jan Suraaj Party again tops the list of candidates with criminal cases in phase two, with 58 of its 117 candidates declaring criminal involvement, of whom 51 face serious charges.
Party-wise breakdown of candidates with criminal cases:
Of the candidates analysed, 17 of 91 from BSP, 38 of 70 from RJD, 30 of 53 from BJP, 14 of 44 from JD(U), 12 of 39 from AAP, 25 of 37 from INC, nine of 15 from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), five of six from CPI(ML)(L), two of four candidates from CPI, and the only candidate from CPI(M) have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
As for serious crimes, 12 of 91 from BSP, 27 of 70 from RJD, 22 of 53 from BJP, 11 of 44 from JD(U), 12 of 39 from AAP, 20 of 37 from INC, 9 of 15 from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), four of the six candidates from CPI(ML)(L), two of the four from CPI, and the one candidate from CPI(M) have declared serious criminal cases in their affidavits.
While 19 candidates have declared cases related to murder, 79 candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder, 52 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, out of which three have cases related to rape.
Candidates with the highest criminal cases:
Tripurari Kumar Tiwari, also known as Manish Kashyap, is the Jan Suraaj Party candidate from Chanpatia constituency in Paschim Champaran district. He has declared 22 criminal cases against him. These include 56 serious IPC offences, 83 other IPC offences, and 8 offences under BNS.
Kashyap, briefly with the BJP, is a social media influencer. He was arrested in 2023 by Tamil Nadu Police for allegedly spreading misinformation about attacks on Bihar's migrants. After his release, Kashyap joined the BJP in 2024 ahead of the general elections. He later quit the party to join Jan Suraaj.
Second on the list is Sanjeet Kumar Badal Gupta, an Independent candidate from Harlakhi constituency in Madhubani district. He faces 14 criminal cases, including 45 serious IPC offences and 99 other IPC offences.
Third on the list is RJD candidate Dewa Gupta from Motihari in Purvi Champaran district. He faces 28 criminal cases: 40 serious IPC offences, 12 serious BNS offences, 51 other IPC offences, and two other BNS offences.
In the second and final phase of the Assembly elections, voting will be held on November 11 across 122 constituencies in 20 districts, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 14.
The first phase of voting took place on November 6, with the highest voter turnout ever recorded in the state’s history at 64.66 per cent of 3.75 crore voters. The turnout had previously crossed 60 per cent in 2000, when RJD came to power with 62.6 per cent. It stood at 61.79 per cent in 1995 and 62.04 per cent in 1992.
