The Bharatiya Janata Party has the highest number of candidates with criminal cases filed against them, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms.

Twenty-three percent of the candidates contesting the ongoing Assembly elections in West Bengal have declared criminal cases in their affidavits, a study published by the Association for Democratic Reforms has shown.

The report released on Tuesday analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 2,920 out of the 2,926 candidates contesting the elections.

Out of the candidates analysed, 683 had criminal cases filed against them. Additionally, 20% of these candidates, or 589 of them, declared serious criminal cases against themselves, the report showed.

A serious criminal case includes offences with a maximum punishment of five years or more, non-bailable offences, electoral offences, or charges related to assault, murder, kidnapping, rape, and crimes against women and children.

Polling in 152 of West Bengal’s 294 constituencies was held on Thursday. Voting in the remaining seats in West Bengal will be held on April 29 and the results will be announced on May 4.

In the first phase of polling, 23% of the candidates, which is 345 out of the 1,475 analysed, have said that they face criminal cases, as per the report. Of these, 294 candidates, or 20% have serious criminal charges filed against them.

In the second phase too, 23% of the candidates, which is 338 out of the 1,445 analysed, have criminal cases against them, the Association for Democratic Reforms said. About 20%, or 295 of them, have serious criminal cases against them.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has the highest number of candidates with criminal cases filed against them, the report said. As many as 208 out of its 293 candidates analysed in the report, or 71%, face criminal charges.

From the Congress, 76 (26%) out of 293 analysed candidates had criminal cases, while 112 (39%) out of 290 candidates from the Trinamool Congress had such charges. Ninety-four, or about 47%, of the 198 candidates from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also had criminal cases.

The BJP also topped the list of candidates with serious criminal cases. At least 188 (64%) out of the 293 candidates from the Hindutva party had such charges.

Overall, 192 candidates of the 2,920 candidates looked into have declared cases related to crimes against women, the report said. Out of them, eight candidates declared cases related to rape. Thirty-five candidates also declared cases related to murder, while 185 declared cases of attempt to murder.

The Association for Democratic Reforms added that 129, or 44%, out of 294 constituencies are red alert constituencies. Such seats are those where three or more contesting candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

The report further noted that 629 (22%) of the total candidates have assets worth over Rs 1 crore.

Among the major parties, 209 (72%) out of 290 candidates from Trinamool Congress, 143 (49%) of 293 candidates from the BJP and 86 (29%) of 293 candidates from the Congress have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore.