JD(U) candidate gets younger by 8 years

Mokama’s JD(U) MLA Anant Singh was 49 years old at the time of the 2005 elections. This time he has declared he is 41, younger by eight years!

Mokama’s JD(U) MLA Anant Singh was 49 years old at the time of the 2005 elections. This time he has declared he is 41, younger by eight years!

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The sitting MLA from the Kanti constituency, Ajit Kumar of the JD(U), was 41 in 2005. He is of the same age in 2010. These are just a few of the bits of bizarre information filed with the Election Commission (EC).

More surprise is in store.

Around 50 per cent of the candidates, including many crorepatis, have not submitted PAN card details. For the fourth phase of the elections on November 1, NGO National Election Watch (NEW) analysed the affidavits of 237 of around 650 candidates. It found that 91 candidates or 38 per cent have criminal cases against them.

Anjesh Kumar, the coordinator of the Bihar chapter of NEW, asks, “Should the EC not take action against those giving false information?”

In the fourth phase of the polls in 42 assembly constituencies, 62% of the RJD candidates are tainted. The BJP follows with 53%. The Congress is at third place with 41%.

NEW is of the view that the EC way of conducting elections does not provide every eligible voter the opportunity to vote. Kumar said, “It takes around 2 minutes to cast a vote at an electronic voting machine (EVM). This allows only 500-600 voters to vote at a booth, whereas the total number of electors at a booth is 1,000-1,200.”