# Elections in Bihar

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 Legislative Assembly are conducted every five years. Last Lok Sabha election was held in 2019 and Legislative Assembly election was held in 2020. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are held at regular interval with one third of the members retiring in a staggered manner. Members of Legislative Assembly elect the state's representative to Rajya Sabha.

## Bihar electoral system

The elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly are conducted along similar lines with the major difference being size of constituencies. At present each Lok Sabha constituency consists of 6 Legislative Assembly 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), Rashtriya Lok Morcha 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 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, the National Democratic Alliance formed the state government having secured a simple majority of 206 seats. 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

| Year | Election | Party-wise Details | Chief Minister | Party |
| 1952 | First Assembly | Total: 276. INC: 239, JP: 32, SPI:23 | Shri Krishna Sinha | INC |
| 1957 | Second Assembly | Total: 318. INC: 210, PSP: 31, JP: 31 | Shri Krishna Sinha (Till 1961) Deep Narayan Singh Binodanand Jha | INC |
| 1962 | Third Assembly | Total: 264. INC: 185, SWA: 50, PSP 29, JP: 20, CPI: 12, SPI: 7, BJS: 3 | Binodanand Jha Krishna Ballabh Sahay | INC |
| 1967 | Fourth Assembly | Total: 318. INC: 128, SSP: 68, BJS: 26 | Mahamaya Prasad Sinha Satish Prasad Singh B. P. Mandal Bhola Paswan Shashtri | INC BJS INC(O) |
| 1969 | Fifth Assembly | Total: 318. SSP: 53, BJS: 34 | President's rule Harihar Singh Bhola Paswan Shashtri Daroga Prasad Rai Karpuri Thakur | None |
| 1972 | Sixth Assembly | Total: 318. INC: 167, CPI: 35, SP: 34 | Kedar Pandey Abdul Gafoor Jagannath Mishra | INC |
| 1977 | Seventh Assembly | Total: 318. JP: 214, INC: 57, CPI: 21, Independent: 25 | Karpuri Thakur Ram Sunder Das | JP |
| 1980 | Eighth Assembly | Total: 324. INC: 169, JP: 42, CPI: 23 | Jagannath Mishra Chandrashekhar Singh | INC |
| 1985 | Ninth Assembly | Total: 324. INC: 196, LK: 46, BJP: 16, JP: 13, CPI: 12, JMM: 9, CPI(M): 1, IC(S): 1, SUCI(C): 1, Independent: 29 | Bindeshwari Dubey Bhagwat Jha Azad Satyendra Narayan Singh Jagannath Mishra | INC |
| 1990 | Tenth Assembly | Total: 324. JD: 122, INC: 71, BJP: 39 | Lalu Prasad Yadav | JD |
| 1995 | Eleventh Assembly | Total: 324. JD: 167, BJP: 41, INC: 29 | Lalu Prasad Yadav Rabri Devi | JD |
| 2000 | Twelfth Assembly | Total: 243. JD: 103, BJP: 39, SP: 28 | Rabri Devi | JD |
| February 2005 | Thirteenth Assembly | Total: 243. NDA: (JD(U):55 + BJP:37), RJD: 75 + INC: 10 | President's rule | None |
| October 2005 | Fourteenth Assembly | Total: 243. NDA: (JD(U):88 + BJP:55), RJD: 54 + INC: 10, LJP: 10 | Nitish Kumar | JD(U) |
| 2010 | Fifteenth Assembly | Total: 243. NDA: (JD(U):115 + BJP:91), RJD: 22 + LJP: 3, INC: 4 | Nitish Kumar Jitan Ram Manjhi | JD(U) |
| 2015 | Sixteenth Assembly | Total: 243. JD(U): 71, BJP:53, LJP: 2, UPA: (RJD:80 + INC:27) | Nitish Kumar | JD(U) |
| 2020 | Seventeenth Assembly | Total: 243. NDA: (BJP:74 + JD(U):45 + VIP:4 + HAM:4), MGB: (RJD:75 + INC:19 + CPI-ML(L):12 + CPI:2 + CPI(M):2) GDSF: (AIMIM:5 + BSP:1), LJP: 1, Independent: 1 | Nitish Kumar | JD(U) |

## Lok Sabha Elections

* Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar
* Araria  · Arrah  · Aurangabad  · Banka  · Begusarai  · Bhagalpur  · Buxar  · Darbhanga  · Gaya  · Gopalganj  · Hajipur  · Jahanabad  · Jamui  · Jhanjharpur  · Karakat  · Katihar  · Khagaria  · Kishanganj  · Madhepura  · Madhubani  · Maharajganj  · Munger  · Muzaffarpur  · Nalanda  · Nawada  · Paschim Champaran  · Pataliputra  · Patna Sahib  · Purnia  · Purvi Champaran  · Samastipur  · Saran  · Sasaram  · Sheohar  · Sitamarhi  · Siwan  · Supaul  · Ujiarpur  · Vaishali  · Valmiki Nagar
* 1951-1984
| Election Year | # | Total Seats | Congress (INC) | Others | PM elect | PM's Party |
| 1951–52 | 1st Lok Sabha | 55 | 45 | Party Name Seats won SP 3 IND 1 Others 6 | Jawaharlal Nehru | INC |
| 1957 | 2nd Lok Sabha | 53 | 41 | Party name Seats won PSP 2 JKP 6 IND 1 Others 3 | Jawaharlal Nehru | INC |
| 1962 | 3rd Lok Sabha | 53 | 39 | Party name Seats won SWA 7 JP 3 Others 4 | Jawaharlal Nehru | INC |
| 1967 | 4th Lok Sabha | 53 | 34 | Party name Seats won SSP 7 CPI 5 IND 4 Others 3 | Indira Gandhi | INC |
| 1971 | 5th Lok Sabha | 54 | 39 | Party name Seats won CPI 5 INC(O) 3 IND 1 Others 5 | Indira Gandhi | INC |
| 1977 | 6th Lok Sabha | 54 | - | Party name Seats won JP 52 Others 2 | Morarji Desai | JP |
| 1980 | 7th Lok Sabha | 54 | 30 | Party name Seats won JNP 8 JNP(S) 5 INC(U) 4 CPI 4 Others 3 | Indira Gandhi | INC |
| 1984 | 8th Lok Sabha | 54 | 48 | Party name Seats won CPI 2 Others 4 | Rajiv Gandhi | INC |
1989-1999
Total Seats- 54
| Election Year | Lok Sabha | 1st Party | 2nd Party | 3rd Party | 4th Party | Others | Prime Minister | PM's Party |
| 1989 | 9th Lok Sabha | JD 32 | BJP 8 | INC 4 | CPI 4 | JMM 4 | | JD |
| 1991 | 10th Lok Sabha | JD 31 | CPI 8 | JMM 6 | BJP 5 | INC 1, CPI(M) 1 | P. V. Narasimha Rao | INC |
| 1996 | 11th Lok Sabha | JD 22 | BJP 18 | SMP 6 | CPI 3 | INC 2, SP 1, JMM 1, Ind 1 | | JD |
| 1998 | 12th Lok Sabha | BJP 19 | RJD 17 | SMP 10 | INC 4 | | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | BJP |
| 1999 | 13th Lok Sabha | BJP 23 | JD(U) 18 | RJD 7 | INC 4 | CPI(M) 1, Ind 1 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |

### After 2000

Total Seats- 40
| Election Year | Lok Sabha | 1st Party | 2nd Party | 3rd Party | 4th Party | Others | Prime Minister | PM's Party |
| 2004 | 14th Lok Sabha | RJD 22 | JD(U) 6 | BJP 5 | LJP 4 | INC 3 | Manmohan Singh | INC |
| 2009 | 15th Lok Sabha | JD(U) 20 | BJP 12 | RJD 4 | INC 2 | Ind 2 | Manmohan Singh |
| 2014 | 16th Lok Sabha | BJP 22 | LJP 6 | RJD 4 | RLSP 3 | JD(U) 2, INC 2, NCP 1 | Narendra Modi | BJP |
| 2019 | 17th Lok Sabha | BJP 17 | JD(U) 16 | LJP 6 | INC 1 | | Narendra Modi |
| 2024 | 18th Lok Sabha | BJP 12 | JD(U) 12 | LJP(RV) 5 | RJD 4 | INC 3, CPI(ML)L 2, Ind 1 | Narendra Modi |

## Electoral process
### Pre elections

The Election Commission's Model Code of Conduct enters into force as soon as the notification for polls is issued. This places restrictions on the campaigning by political parties as well as prohibits certain government actions that would unduly influence the election.

### Voting day

The electoral process is the same as in the rest of India with Electronic Voting Machines being used for all Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.

### Post elections

After the election day, the EVMs are stood stored in a strong room under heavy security. After the different phases of the elections are complete, a day is set to count the votes. The votes are tallied and typically, the verdict is known within hours. The candidate who has mustered the most votes is declared the winner of the constituency.
The party or coalition that has won the most seats is invited by the Governor to form the new government. The coalition or party must prove its majority in the floor of the house (Legislative Assembly) in a vote of confidence by obtaining a simple majority (minimum 50%) of the votes in the House.

## Voter registration

For few cities in Bihar, the voter registration forms can be generated online and submitted to the nearest electoral office.

## Absentee voting

As of now, India does not have an absentee ballot system. Section 19 of The Representation of the People Act (RPA)-1950 allows a person to register to vote if he or she is above 18 years of age and is an ‘ordinary resident’ of the residing constituency i.e. living at the current address for 6 months or longer. Section 20 of the above Act disqualifies a non-resident Indian (NRI) from getting his/her name registered in the electoral rolls. Consequently, it also prevents an NRI from casting his/her vote in elections to the Parliament and to the State Legislatures.
The Representation of the People (Amendment) 2006 Bill was introduced in the Parliament by Shri Hanraj Bharadwaj, Minister of Law and Justice during February 2006 with an objective to amend Section 20 of the RPA-1950 to enable NRIs to vote. Despite the report submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee two years ago, the Government has so far failed to act on the recommendations. The Bill was reintroduced in the 2008 budget session of the Parliament to the Lok Sabha. But no action taken once again.
Several civic society organizations have urged the government to amend the RPA act to allow NRI's and people on the move to cast their vote through absentee ballot system.