Florentine Diplomat and political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, in his book The Prince, has said, “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” In the Bihar assembly elections, of the 243 winning candidates analysed, 130 have declared criminal cases against themselves.
According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Bihar Election Watch, after analysing the self-sworn affidavits of all 243 winning candidates, 102 of the winning candidates in 2025 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
In the election results, the BJP led with 89 seats, followed by JD(U) with 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) with 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) with five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha with four.
The report noted that 102 individuals who won the elections this year have declared serious criminal cases, a slight decrease from the 123 candidates who had declared such cases in 2020.
Six winning candidates have declared that they face charges related to murder (under IPC Section 302), according to the report.
| Party | Number of winning candidates with declared cases related to attempt to murder | Number of winning candidates with declared
cases related to murder |
Number of winning candidates with declared cases related to crime against women |
|---|---|---|---|
| BJP | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| JD(U) | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| RJD | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| CPI(M) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 19 | 6 | 9 |
Party-wise winning candidates with criminal cases
Out of the 89 winning candidates from the BJP, 54 have declared criminal cases against themselves. From JD(U), 31 out of 85 winning candidates have disclosed criminal cases.
Among the 25 winning candidates from RJD, 18 have declared criminal cases. In the case of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), 11 out of 19 winning candidates have declared criminal cases, while all 6 winning candidates from INC have disclosed such cases, according to the report.
All 5 winning candidates from AIMIM have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Additionally, 1 out of 5 winning candidates from HAM(S) and 1 out of 4 winning candidates from Rashtriya Lok Morcha have criminal cases.
Both of the winning candidates from CPI(ML)(L) and CPI(M), as well as the single winning candidate from the Indian Inclusive Party and BSP, have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
How many candidates have “serious criminal charges” against them?
Out of the 89 winning candidates from the BJP, 43 have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. In JD(U), 23 out of 85 winning candidates have disclosed serious criminal cases.
Among the 25 winning candidates from RJD, 14 have declared serious criminal charges.
In the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), 10 out of 19 winning candidates have declared such cases.
For INC, 3 out of 6 winning candidates have serious criminal cases, while 4 out of 5 winning candidates from AIMIM have disclosed serious charges.
Additionally, 1 out of 4 winning candidates from Rashtriya Lok Morcha, 1 out of 2 winning candidates from CPI(ML)(L), and all 1 winning candidate each from CPI(M), Indian Inclusive Party, and BSP have declared serious criminal cases in their affidavits, the report noted.
Bihar assembly elections result
The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finished a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates.
The parties of the Mahagathbandhan, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant setbacks, and Jan Suraaj, which had hoped for an impressive debut after its founder, Prashant Kishor, conducted an extensive campaign, failed to open its account.
The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats.
In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.
In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) – CPI(ML)(L) – two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) – one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M) one seat.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat.
(With inputs from agencies)
