Patna: A sizeable number of politicians, who face serious criminal charges, have made it to the Bihar Assembly once again.
Some of them are facing charges ranging from murder, kidnapping, extortion and loot.
According to the National Election Watch, a nationwide campaign comprising more than 1200 NGOs and other citizens-led organisations working for electoral reforms, the
BJP topped the list fielding 41 `tainted` candidates according to the affidavits filed by them for the six-phase election.
Ramvilas Paswan`s LJP had 13 candidates who, according to their affidavits, had been chargesheeted in criminal cases.
The LJP candidate from Araria Zakir Hussain, who also faces criminal cases, has won.
Rama Singh, who faces over a dozen criminal charges including murder and extortion from Mahnar in Vaishali district and Shankar Singh (Rupauli), however, lost the
election.
The affidavits of 57 RJD candidates show that the party fielded 22 candidates who have criminal cases pending against them. They included Md Anwarul Haque (Bajpaati), Lalit Kumar Yadav (Darbhanga Rural), Md Israil (Kanti), Samrat Choudhary alias Rakesh Kumar (Parbatta), Prahalad Yadav (Surajgarha), Dr Ramanand Yadav (Fatua) and Vijay Prakash (Jamui).
Except Lalit Kumar Yadav, Samrat Choudhary and Ramanand Yadav, others lost.
RJD`s Surendra Prasad Yadav, once known as `Magadh Samrat` for his muscle power in the Maoist-affected Magadh division comprising Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Nawada and Arwal districts, also won from Belganj constituency in Gaya.
The BJP gave ticket to sitting Shahpur MLA Munni Devi whose husband Bhuvar Ojha and brother-in-law Vimeshwar face scriminal cases and she won once again.
Many tainted candiates have lost the election too. They included RJD`s Kunti Devi, wife of alleged muscleman Rajendra Yadav, who lost from Atri in Gaya district, Shakuni Choudhary from Tarapur and Iliyas Hussain from Dehri.
Those from the BJP who lost are Amrendra Pratap Singh from Ara and Nityanand Rai from Hajipur and Renu Devi from Bettiah.
Former MP Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav, who is also the brother-in-law of RJD chief Lalu Prasad and has a criminal background, contested on a Congress ticket from Gopalganj. He finished a poor fourth and so did Babloo Dev, also of the
Congress, from Kesaria.
Another Congress candidate Amit Kumar, who was arrested after filing his nomination from Sitamarhi in a case under the Arms Act, also lost.
A dozen politicians, including MPs and legislators, who have been convicted and sentenced by fast track courts in Bihar after 2005, were ineligible to contest this time.
PTI
