Will Bihar keep tainted candidates out of polls?

As Bihar is gearing up to witness the Assembly Elections 2020 amid preparations in full swing, political parties in the state have also joined the race to win the power. This time, Election Commission has issued new rules to conduct fair elections without tainted candidates and parties will have to advertise the crime details of its candidates before the polls begin.

Patna:Amid the race to win power in Bihar, political parties, with all their calculations, techniques and tricks, have joined the track of Assembly polls 2020. Earlier, the powerful people used to get the majority of votes and win seats with the help of goons but this time the game rules have been changed. After the implementation of the new guidelines of the Election Commission, it will be worth noting which political party will abide by the rule book.

According to the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, many Bihar MLAs have serious cases registered against them. Despite these charges, political parties give them tickets continuing the trend over years. With the introduction of new Election Commission provisions, Bihar will the first state to undergo the test in the Assembly Elections 2020.

As per ADR reports, during 2015 Assembly polls, Rashtriya Janata Dal topped the list of tainted candidates as 41 per cent party MLAs were having criminal cases registered against them. Congress was the second on the list, with 40 per cent tainted candidates followed by JDU with 38 per cent and BJP 35 per cent.

Read:|Political parties kick-start campaigning ahead of Bihar Assembly polls 2020

Meanwhile, political and social analysts directly blame political parties for rising corruption inside the administration. They said that all parties give tickets to goons and criminals who spoil the system. During the early stage, political parties claim not to give tickets to these evil elements but as the elections approach all their claims diminish and they start highlighting that their party has less tainted candidates than the other. But the reality is that no one is less in the foul play.

Rajiv Kumar, who played a leading role in preparing the ADR report, said that all parties give tickets to tainted MLAs and the figures keep rising year after year. In 2005 39 per cent tainted MLAs came to power while in 2010, the number increased to 40 per cent in 2015 and it reached 45 per cent in 2015.

Earlier, the Supreme Court issued a directive for all political parties not to give tickets to tainters to maintain fair elections and maintain law and order. Following the directives, the Election Commission imposed strict instructions and each MLA was asked to reveal information about the criminal charges registered against him. Now, who will pay heed to the directives will be a matter of interest.

According to the new rules, candidates need to advertise their criminal details four days before the last date of the withdrawal of nomination for the first time. The second advertisement will be published within five to eight days of the nomination withdrawal date. The third time details will be advertised from the ninth day of nomination withdrawal date to the last day of the poll campaign.

The Election Commission has clarified that this will help the voters to choose the right candidate. Under these rule, RJD will remain questionable for most of the time. On the other hand, RJD's chief spokesperson Virendra has said that each political party should avoid tainted candidates and allow its best worker to become an MLA.

Read:|Political parties in Bihar gear up ahead Assembly polls 2020