Nearly 23 per cent of the candidates contesting the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report released on Thursday by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and West Bengal Election Watch.

Among the major parties, the BJP has the highest share of candidates with criminal cases, with 106 out of 152 nominees (70 per cent) declaring such cases in their affidavits.

Out of the 148 candidates the ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded, 63 have criminal cases (43 per cent), while 43 of the 98 candidates of the CPI(M) and 39 of the 151 nominees of the Congress have also declared criminal antecedents.