Guwahati, March 31 -- Fourteen per cent of the 722 candidates contesting the Assam Assembly polls have declared criminal cases against themselves, while 12 percent of the nominees admitted there were cases of serious crimes including murder and attempt to murder, according to two non-governmental poll watchdogs.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Assam Election Watch, which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 722 candidates, said 102 (14%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. However, the proportion was marginally lower than the 2021 Assembly elections, when out of 941 candidates analysed, 138 (15%) had declared criminal cases against themselves.
Altogether 82 (11%) of the contestants have declar...