Out of a total of 1,197 candidates with criminal antecedents who contested the recently-held Bihar assembly elections, 467 were fielded by recognised national and state parties, according to the Election Commission. The remaining 730 were either fielded by registered but unrecognised parties or had contested the polls as independents. A total of 3,733 candidates including 371 women were in the fray in the three-phase elections, as per EC data.

According to data made available by the Election Commission (EC) here and the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, 156 cases were registered against "organisers" of rallies and meetings of various leaders and candidates for violating COVID-19 norms. Cases were registered against organisers as they had sought permission to hold rallies or meetings in which following health guidelines was mandatory, explained an official.