West Bengal election integrity concerns emerge from candidate analysis. Nearly one in four candidates in phase I elections have declared criminal cases, with 345 out of 1,475 candidates facing pending charges. The Association for Democratic Reforms report reveals 294 candidates face serious criminal allegations, including 19 with murder cases and 105 with attempted murder charges. Among major parties, BJP shows highest proportion with 70 percent of its 152 candidates declaring criminal cases, followed by CPI(M) at 44 percent and TMC at 43 percent. The financial analysis indicates 21 percent of candidates are crorepatis with average assets of 1.34 crore rupees per candidate. TMC candidates lead in wealth declaration with average assets of 5.70 crore rupees.
