High Percentage of Bihar MLAs Face Criminal Charges Ahead of Elections

Criminal Cases Among Bihar Legislators

A recent report by the non-profit organization Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that almost two-thirds of the current MLAs in Bihar have reported having criminal cases against them, just before the upcoming state elections.

According to the findings, 158 out of 241 MLAs, which accounts for 65.5%, have pending legal cases. Notably, 119 of these legislators (49.3%) are implicated in serious criminal offenses.

Serious criminal offenses are categorized by the organization as those that could lead to imprisonment exceeding five years, non-bailable and cognizable offenses, as well as electoral violations, among other classifications.

Specifically, 16 MLAs have reported charges related to murder, while 30 have been implicated in attempted murder cases, and eight have declared offenses against women.

Breaking it down by party, 53 out of 83 MLAs (64%) from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have acknowledged criminal charges. In the Janata Dal (United), which is also part of the ruling coalition, 21 out of 47 MLAs (45%) have reported similar cases.

On the opposition side, a significant 53 of 72 MLAs (74%) from the Rashtriya Janata Dal have criminal cases against them, and 14 out of 17 Congress MLAs (82%) have also declared such charges.

The election watchdog's report was compiled after reviewing the self-declared affidavits of 241 out of the 243 MLAs submitted prior to the 2020 Assembly elections.

Two MLAs, one each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (United), were excluded from this analysis due to incomplete or improperly scanned affidavits at the time of the report's preparation.

The elections in Bihar are scheduled to occur in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes set for November 14.