43 crorepatis, 67 with crimil cases in Bengal fifth phase polls

Kolkata, April 26: As many as 349 candidates are in the fray in the fifth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, of whom 67 have crimil cases pending against them while 43 are crorepatis. Fifty-three constituencies spread across the districts of South 24 Pargas, Kolkata and Hooghly will go to the polls in the fifth phase on Saturday. According to a report released by the West Bengal Election Watch on Tuesday, 52 of the 67 candidates with crimil cases face serious charges including that of murder and crimes against women. The ruling Trimool Congress with 17 nominees leads the list of candidates with crimil charges, followed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist with 14. The Bharatiya Jata Party has fielded 10 such candidates while the Congress has fielded seven. Five constituencies — Kolkata Port, Jangipara, Kasba, Raidighi and Singur — have been declared as “red alert constituencies”, where there are three or more candidates with crimil charges. (IANS)