Patna: Against only 36 multi-millionaires in the last assembly elections, there are over 100 multi-millionaires in the second and third phases of the ongoing Bihar polls, a report by two NGOs has said. It adds that 219 candidates have criminal records.
The Association of Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch said on Thursday that 104 candidates contesting for the second and third phases on October 24 and October 28 were multi-millionaires.
The report was compiled after analysing 503 affidavits of candidates contesting for the second and third phases in Bihar polls.
"This shows the role of increasing money power in politics," said Anjesh Kumar of the Association of Democratic Reforms.
He said 219 candidates were criminals. Of them, 129 face serious criminal charges like murder and attempt to murder.
All major political parties have given tickets to candidates with pending criminal cases.
Kumar said of the 2,032 candidates contesting for the 140 seats in the first three rounds, 72 have proven records of criminal cases, including murder.
The Bihar elections, which began on October 21, will be held over six phases. The polls end on November 20 and counting of votes will be done on November 24.