164 candidates with criminal records in round four of polls

The candidates for the fourth phase of polls on Thursday is a mixed bag - 164 have criminal records and 259 are millionaires, a survey said.

The candidates for the fourth phase of polls on Thursday is a mixed bag - 164 have criminal records and 259 are millionaires, a survey said on Tuesday.

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According to the study by the National Election Watch (NEW), "12 percent of the total 1,306 candidates in fray for the fourth phase have criminal records".

The NEW study says the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) tops the list with 13 candidates.

The Congress has 12, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 10 and the Samajwadi Party (SP) has seven candidates with criminal records, the study says.

Largest number of candidates, 50, with such records are from Uttar Pradesh.

The first, second and third phase of polls had respectively 222, 288 and 258 candidates with criminal records.

A total of 259 millionaires are contesting elections in the fourth phase, the study says. The Congress has 49, the BSP 39, BJP 36 and the SP has 18 millionaire candidates.

According to the study among the major parties, the average asset per BSP candidate is Rs.130 million, the Congress Rs.60 million and the BJP Rs.20 million.

NEW comprises of more than 1,200 NGOs and other organisations working on electoral reforms, improving democracy and governance in India.