Politics of Bihar
State Government Constitution
Legislature Legislative Assembly Member in Assembly - 243 Legislative Council Member in Council - 95
Executives President Chief Minister Deputy Chief Minister Cabinet
Judiciary High Court Chief Justice District Courts Panchayat
Elections General elections Assembly elections
Political Parties Bharatiya Janata Party Bahujan Samaj Party Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (Marxist) Indian National Congress Janata Dal (United) Nationalist Congress Party Rashtriya Janata Dal Samajwadi Party
Subdivisions Division - 9 Districts - 38 Sub-Divisions of Bihar - 101 Towns of Bihar - 130 Blocks in Bihar - 534 Panchayats in Bihar - 8,471 Villages in Bihar - 45,103
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Elections in the state of Bihar, India are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India. The Assembly of Bihar creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India.

Elections to the Lok Sabha, also termed as General Elections, are typically held every 5 years after the central government has completed its term. It may also be held before the completion of term if parliament is dissolved early. Similarly, elections to Vidhan Sabha are conducted every five years. Last Lok Sabha election was held in 2019 and Vidhan Sabha election was held in 2015. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are held at regular interval with one third of the members retiring in a staggered manner. Members of Vidhan Sabha elect the state's representative to Rajya Sabha.

Bihar electoral system

The elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha are conducted along similar lines with the major difference being size of constituencies. At present each Lok Sabha constituency consists of 6 Vidhan Sabha constituency. Each constituency elects a single member to represent them via a First Past the Post System, where a candidate with plurality of total votes cast is elected.

Currently the major parties in the state are Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party. The state was dominated by Indian National Congress until the decade of 1970s with parties like BJP and Janata Dal gaining prominence. For the purpose of elections every party is assigned a symbol to help voters in recognizing the candidate they support.

National level representation

Lok Sabha delegation

Currently, the state of Bihar sends 40 representatives to the Lok Sabha, elected through a first past the post system. The Indian general election, 2009 in Bihar were held for 40 seats with the state going to polls in the first four phases of the general elections. The major contenders in the state were the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Indian National Congress and the Fourth Front. NDA consisted of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) whereas the fourth front was constituted of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Rajya Sabha delegation

Both the houses of the state legislature jointly nominate Members of Parliament to the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Membership of Rajya Sabha is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of 250 members, and current laws have provision for 245 members. Most of the members of the House are indirectly elected by state and territorial legislatures using single transferable votes, while the President of India can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Members sit for staggered six-year terms, with one third of the members retiring every two years.

State level representation

Legislative assembly

Bihar legislature assembly has 243 seats. For the election of its members, the state is divided into 243 Assembly Constituencies in which the candidate securing the largest number of votes is declared elected. In the Bihar Assembly Elections, 2010, the National Democratic Alliance formed the state government having secured a simple majority of 206 seats.^[1] Bihar Legislative Assembly came into existence in 1937. The Assembly had a strength of 152 members. According to the provisions of the Constitution of India, the first General Elections in the state were held in 1952. The total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated member. Dr Sri Krishna Singh became the first Leader of the house and the Chief Minister and Dr Anurag Narayan Sinha was elected the first deputy leader of the assembly and became state's first Deputy Chief Minister. It was reduced to 318 during the second General Elections. In 1977, the total number of elected members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly was further raised from 318 to 324. With the creation of a separate State of Jharkhand, by an Act of Parliament titled the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000, the strength of the Bihar Legislative Assembly was reduced from 325 to 243 members. The current Nitish Kumar government is a minority, powered by the BJP and LJP to majority status

Legislative Council

The upper house known as the Legislative Council has lesser powers than the Assembly and several of its members are nominated by the Assembly. Others are elected from various sections of the society like Graduates and Teachers. Currently the Legislative Council consists of 95 members. A new Province of Bihar and Orissa was created by the British Government on 12 December 1911. The Legislative Council with a total of 43 members belonging to different categories was formed in 1912. The first sitting of the council was convened on 20 January 1913. In 1936, Bihar attained its separate Statehood. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the unicameral legislature got converted into bicameral one, i.e. the Bihar Legislative Council and the Bihar Legislative Assembly. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Bihar Legislative Council consisted of 29 members. After the first General Elections 1952, the number of members was increased up to 72 and by 1958 the number was raised to 96. With the creation of Jharkhand, as a result of the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 passed by the Parliament, the strength of the Bihar Legislative Council has been reduced from 96 to 75 members

History of elections in Bihar

Assembly election

Lok Sabha Elections

• 1951-1984

1989-1999

Total Seats- 54

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