>Dhruv edits at 15:21, 8 January 2022

2022-01-08T15:21:23Z

New page

{{short description|Overview of the procedure of elections in the Indian state of Bihar}}
{{Politics of 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]].

[[File:IN-BR.svg]]

Elections to the [[Lok Sabha]], also termed as [[General elections in india|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 [[Bihar Legislative Assembly|Vidhan Sabha]] are conducted every five years. Last [[2014 Indian general election|Lok Sabha election]] was held in 2019 and [[2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election|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|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]] and [[Rashtriya Lok Samata 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====
{{main|Indian general election in Bihar|Indian general election in Bihar, 2009}}

Currently, the state of Bihar sends 40 representatives to the Lok Sabha, elected through a [[First-past-the-post system|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====
{{main|Bihar 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 (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] formed the [[Government of Bihar|state government]] having secured a simple majority of 206 seats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eciresults.nic.in/Statewises04.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127010119/http://eciresults.nic.in/Statewises04.htm |archive-date=2010-11-27 }}</ref>
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====
{{main|Bihar Legislative Council}}
The upper house known as the '''[[Bihar Vidhan Parishad|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===
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Election
!colspan=2|Party-wise Details
! Chief Minister
! Party
|-
|1951
|[[1952 Bihar Legislative Assembly election|First Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
|Total: 276. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 239, [[Jharkhand Party|JP]]: 32, [[Socialist Party (India)|SPI]]:23
|[[Shri Krishna Sinha]] 
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|----
|1957
|[[1957 Bihar Legislative Assembly election|Second Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
|Total: 318. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 210, [[Praja Socialist Party|PSP]]: 31, [[Jharkhand Party|JP]]: 31
|[[Shri Krishna Sinha]] [[Deep Narayan Singh]] [[Binodanand Jha]]
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|----
|1962
|[[1962 Bihar Legislative Assembly election|Third Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
|Total: 264. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 185, [[Swatantra Party|SWA]]: 50, [[Praja Socialist Party|PSP]] 29, [[Jharkhand Party|JP]]: 20, [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]: 12, [[Socialist Party (India)|SPI]]: 7, [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|BJS]]: 3
|[[Binodanand Jha]] [[Krishna Ballabh Sahay]]
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|----
|1967
|Fourth Assembly
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
|Total: 318. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 128, [[Samyukta Socialist Party|SSP]]: 68, [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|BJS]]: 26
|[[Mahamaya Prasad Sinha]] [[Satish Prasad Singh]] [[B. P. Mandal]] [[Bhola Paswan Shashtri]]
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|BJS]] [[Indian National Congress (O)|INC(O)]]
|----
|1969
|Fifth Assembly
! style="background-color: grey" |
| Total: 318. [[Samyukta Socialist Party|SSP]]: 53, [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|BJS]]: 34
|[[President's rule]] [[Harihar Singh]] [[Bhola Paswan Shashtri]] [[Daroga Prasad Rai]] [[Karpuri Thakur]]
|None
|----
|1972
|Sixth Assembly
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
| Total: 318. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 167, [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]: 35, [[Samajwadi Party|SP]]: 34
|[[Kedar Pandey]] [[Abdul Ghafoor (politician)|Abdul Gafoor]] [[Jagannath Mishra]]
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|----
|1977
|Seventh Assembly
! style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Party}}" |
| Total: 318. [[Janata Party|JP]]: 214, [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 57, [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]: 21, [[Independent politician|Independent]]: 25
|[[Karpuri Thakur]] [[Ram Sunder Das]]
|[[Janata Party|JP]]
|----
|1980
|Eighth Assembly
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
| Total: 324. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 169, [[Janata Party|JP]]: 42, [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]: 23
|[[Jagannath Mishra]] [[Chandrashekhar Singh]]
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|----
|1985
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, 1985|Ninth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}" |
| Total: 324. [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 196, [[Lok Dal|LK]]: 46, [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]: 16, [[Janata Party|JP]]: 13, [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]: 12, [[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha|JMM]]: 9, [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI(M)]]: 1, [[Indian Congress (Socialist)|IC(S)]]: 1, [[Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)|SUCI(C)]]: 1, [[Independent politician|Independent]]: 29

|[[Bindeshwari Dubey]] [[Bhagwat Jha Azad]] [[Satyendra Narayan Singh]] [[Jagannath Mishra]]
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|----
|1990
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, 1990|Tenth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal}}" |
| Total: 324. [[Janata Dal|JD]]: 122, [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 71, [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]: 39
|[[Lalu Prasad Yadav]]
|[[Janata Dal|JD]]
|----
|1995
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, 2000|Eleventh Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal}}" |
| Total: 324. [[Rashtriya Janata Dal|JD]]: 167, [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]: 41, [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 29
|[[Lalu Prasad Yadav]] [[Rabri Devi]]
|[[Janata Dal|JD]]
|----
|2000
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, 2000|Twelfth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal}}" |
| Total: 243. [[Rashtriya Janata Dal|JD]]: 103, [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]: 39, [[Samta Party|SP]]: 28
|[[Rabri Devi]]
|[[Janata Dal|JD]]
|----
|2005
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, Feb 2005|Thirteenth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: grey" |
| Total: 243. [[National Democratic Alliance|NDA]]: ([[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]:55 + [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]:37), [[Rashtriya Janata Dal|RJD]]: 75 + [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 10
|[[President's rule]]
|None
|----
|2005
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, Oct 2005|Fourteenth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: #29a53e" |
| Total: 243. [[National Democratic Alliance|NDA]]: ([[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]:88 + [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]:55), [[Rashtriya Janata Dal|RJD]]: 54 + [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 10, [[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]]: 10
|[[Nitish Kumar]]
|[[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]
|----
|2010
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, 2010|Fifteenth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: #29a53e" |
| Total: 243. [[National Democratic Alliance|NDA]]: ([[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]:115 + [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]:91), [[Rashtriya Janata Dal|RJD]]: 22 + [[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]]: 3, [[Indian National Congress|INC]]: 4
|[[Nitish Kumar]] [[Jitan Ram Manjhi]]
|[[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]
|----
|2015
|[[Bihar Assembly Election, 2015|Sixteenth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: #29a53e" |
| Total: 243. [[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]: 71, [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]:53, [[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]]: 2, [[United Progressive Alliance|UPA]]: ([[Rashtriya Janata Dal|RJD]]:80 + [[Indian National Congress|INC]]:27)
|[[Nitish Kumar]]
|[[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]
|----
|2020
|[[2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election|Seventeenth Assembly]]
! style="background-color: #29a53e" |
| Total: 243. [[National Democratic Alliance|NDA]]: ([[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]]:74 + [[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]:43 + [[Vikassheel Insaan Party|VIP]]:4 + [[Hindustani Awam Morcha|HAM]]:4), [[Mahagathbandhan (Bihar)|MGB]]: ([[Rashtriya Janata Dal|RJD]]:75 + [[Indian National Congress|INC]]:19 + [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation|CPI-ML(L)]]:12 + [[Communist Party of India|CPI]]:2 + [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI(M)]]:2) [[Grand Democratic Secular Front|GDSF]]: ([[All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen|AIMIM]]:5 + [[Bahujan Samaj Party|BSP]]:1), [[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]]: 1, [[Independent politician|Independent]]: 1
|[[Nitish Kumar]]
|[[Janata Dal (United)|JD(U)]]
|----
|}

==Lok Sabha Elections==

{| style="background:none; width:20%; margin:0; float:right;"
|-
!<div style="font-size:100%; background:#f6f6f6; vertical-align:top;">'''[[Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar]]''' </div>
|-
| style="background:none; padding-left:1em; padding-right:1em; text-align:center; width:100%;"|
[[Araria (Lok Sabha constituency)|Araria]] {{·}} [[Arrah (Lok Sabha constituency)|Arrah]] {{·}} [[Aurangabad (Bihar) (Lok Sabha constituency)|Aurangabad]] {{·}} [[Banka (Lok Sabha constituency)|Banka]] {{·}} [[Begusarai (Lok Sabha constituency)|Begusarai]] {{·}} [[Bhagalpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Bhagalpur]] {{·}} [[Buxar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Buxar]] {{·}} [[Darbhanga (Lok Sabha constituency)|Darbhanga]] {{·}} [[Gaya (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gaya]] {{·}} [[Gopalganj (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gopalganj]] {{·}} [[Hajipur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Hajipur]] {{·}} [[Jahanabad (Lok Sabha constituency)|Jahanabad]] {{·}} [[Jamui (Lok Sabha constituency)|Jamui]] {{·}} [[Jhanjharpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Jhanjharpur]] {{·}} [[Karakat (Lok Sabha constituency)|Karakat]] {{·}} [[Katihar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Katihar]] {{·}} [[Khagaria (Lok Sabha constituency)|Khagaria]] {{·}} [[Kishanganj (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kishanganj]] {{·}} [[Madhepura (Lok Sabha constituency)|Madhepura]] {{·}} [[Madhubani (Lok Sabha constituency)|Madhubani]] {{·}} [[Maharajganj (Lok Sabha constituency) (Bihar)|Maharajganj]] {{·}} [[Munger (Lok Sabha constituency)|Munger]] {{·}} [[Muzaffarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muzaffarpur]] {{·}} [[Nalanda (Lok Sabha constituency)|Nalanda]] {{·}} [[Nawada (Lok Sabha constituency)|Nawada]] {{·}} [[Paschim Champaran (Lok Sabha constituency)|Paschim Champaran]] {{·}} [[Pataliputra (Lok Sabha constituency)|Pataliputra]] {{·}} [[Patna Sahib (Lok Sabha constituency)|Patna Sahib]] {{·}} [[Purnia (Lok Sabha constituency)|Purnia]] {{·}} [[Purvi Champaran (Lok Sabha constituency)|Purvi Champaran]] {{·}} [[Samastipur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Samastipur]] {{·}} [[Saran (Lok Sabha constituency)|Saran]] {{·}} [[Sasaram (Lok Sabha constituency)|Sasaram]] {{·}} [[Sheohar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Sheohar]] {{·}} [[Sitamarhi (Lok Sabha constituency)|Sitamarhi]] {{·}} [[Siwan (Lok Sabha constituency)|Siwan]] {{·}} [[Supaul (Lok Sabha constituency)|Supaul]] {{·}} [[Ujiarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Ujiarpur]] {{·}} [[Vaishali (Lok Sabha constituency)|Vaishali]] {{·}} [[Valmiki Nagar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Valmiki Nagar]]
|-
!<div style="font-size:100%; background:#f6f6f6; vertical-align:top;">''[[:Category:Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar|more...]]'' </div>
|}

*1951: Main winner: Congress
*1957: Main winner: Congress
*1962: Main winner: [[Indian National Congress]]: 39 out of 53, Swatantra Party: 7
*1967: Main winner: Congress
*1971: Main winner: Congress
*1977: Total: 54. Janata Party + Alliance: All 54. Congress: Zero.
*1980: Total: 54. Congress the main winner with 39. CPI: 5
*1984: Congress: 48/54.

===Till 2000===
'''Total Seats- 54'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Lok Sabha
! Election Year
! colspan="2"|1st Party
! colspan="2"|2nd Party
! colspan="2"|3rd Party
! colspan="2"|4th Party
! Others
! Prime Minister
! PM's Party
|-
|[[9th Lok Sabha]]
|1989
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
|'''[[Janata Dal|JD]] 32'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|[[BJP]] 8
|style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 4
|style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]] 4
|[[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha|JMM]] 4
|
|style="background:{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|'''JD'''
|-
|[[10th Lok Sabha]]
|1991
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
|'''[[Janata Dal|JD]] 31'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]] 8
|style="background-color: {{party color|Jharkhand Mukti Morcha}}"|
|[[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha|JMM]] 6
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}"|
|[[BJP]] 5
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 1, [[CPI(M)]] 1
|'''[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]'''
|style="background:{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|'''INC'''
|-
|[[11th Lok Sabha]]
|1996
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
|'''[[Janata Dal|JD]] 22'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}"|
|[[BJP]] 18
|style="background-color: {{party color|Samata Party}}"|
|[[Samata Party|SMP]] 6
|style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]] 3
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 2, [[Samajwadi Party|SP]] 1, [[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha|JMM]] 1, [[Independent (politician)|Ind]] 1
|
|style="background:{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|'''JD'''
|-
|[[12th Lok Sabha]]
|1998
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|'''[[BJP]] 19'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}"|
|[[RJD]] 17
|style="background-color: {{party color|Samata Party}}"|
|'''[[Samata Party|SMP]] 10'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 4
|
|rowspan=2|'''[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]'''
|rowspan=2: style="background: {{party color|BJP}}"|'''BJP'''
|-
|[[13th Lok Sabha]]
|1999
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|'''[[BJP]] 23'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal (United)}}"|
|'''[[JD(U)]] 18'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}"|
|[[RJD]] 7
|style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 4
|[[CPI(M)]] 1, [[Independent (politician)|Ind]] 1
|-
|}

===After 2000===
'''Total Seats- 40'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Lok Sabha
! Election Year
! colspan="2"|1st Party
! colspan="2"|2nd Party
! colspan="2"|3rd Party
! colspan="2"|4th Party
! Others
! Prime Minister
! PM's Party
|-
|[[14th Lok Sabha]]
|[[2004 Indian general election|2004]]
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}"|
|'''[[RJD]] 22'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal (United)}}"|
|[[JD(U)]] 6
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|[[BJP]] 5
|style="background-color: {{party color|Lok Janshakti Party}}"|
|[[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]] 4
|'''[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 3'''
|rowspan=2|'''[[Manmohan Singh]]'''
|rowspan=2: style="background:{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|'''INC'''
|-
|[[15th Lok Sabha]]
|[[2009 Indian general election|2009]]
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal (United)}}"|
|[[JD(U)]] 20
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|[[BJP]] 12
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}"|
|'''[[RJD]] 4'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}"|
|'''[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 2'''
|[[Independent (politician)|Ind]] 2
|-
|[[16th Lok Sabha]]
|[[2014 Indian general election|2014]]
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|'''[[BJP]] 22'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Lok Janshakti Party}}"|
|'''[[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]] 6'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}"|
|[[RJD]] 4
|style="background-color: {{party color|Rashtriya Lok Samta Party}}"|
|'''[[Rashtriya Lok Samta Party|RLSP]] 3'''
|[[JD(U)]] 2, [[Indian National Congress|INC]] 2, [[Nationalist Congress Party|NCP]] 1
|rowspan=2|'''[[Narendra Modi]]'''
|rowspan=2: style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}"|'''BJP'''
|-
|[[17th Lok Sabha]]
|[[2019 Indian general election|2019]]
|style="background-color: {{party color|BJP}}" |
|'''[[BJP]] 17'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Dal (United)}}"|
|'''[[JD(U)]] 16'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|Lok Janshakti Party}}"|
|'''[[Lok Janshakti Party|LJP]] 6'''
|style="background-color: {{party color|INC}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]] 1
|
|-
|}

==History of politics==
{{main|Politics in Bihar}}

==Electoral process==
{{main|Elections_in_India#Electoral_process|l1=Electoral Process in India}}

===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 [[Indian voting machines|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<ref>[http://gulbarga.nic.in/karelections2008/ACTS/RPAct1950.pdf Representation of the People Act-1950] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226073956/http://gulbarga.nic.in/karelections2008/ACTS/RPAct1950.pdf |date=2009-02-26 }}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://voterswithoutborders.org Petition for Absentee Voting in Indian Elections] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416234322/http://voterswithoutborders.org/ |date=2009-04-16 }}</ref><ref>[http://tanushreebagrodia.blogspot.com/2008/12/nri-voting-rights-and-upcoming.html Non-Resident Indians Voting rights in the upcoming general elections ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072623/http://tanushreebagrodia.blogspot.com/2008/12/nri-voting-rights-and-upcoming.html |date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

==Further reading==
* Subrata K. Mitra and V.B. Singh. 1999. ''Democracy and Social Change in India: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Electorate''. New Delhi: Sage Publications. {{ISBN|81-7036-809-X}} (India HB) {{ISBN|0-7619-9344-4}} (U.S. HB).
* Subrata K. Mitra, Mike Enskat, Clemens Spiess (eds.). 2004. ''Political Parties in South Asia''. Greenwood: Praeger.
* Subrata K. Mitra/Mike Enskat/V.B. Singh. 2001. ''India'', in: Nohlen, Dieter (Ed.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook. Vol. I. Oxford: Oxford University Press

==See also==

*[[List of Assembly constituencies of Bihar]]
*[[List of Constituencies of the Lok Sabha#Bihar|List of Lok Sabha Constituencies in Bihar]]
*[[Elections in India]]
*[[49-O]] Popularly known as 'No Vote'
*[[2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081207201816/http://www.eci.gov.in/ Election Commission of India]
*[http://www.indohistory.com/elections_in_india.html Elections in India] History and Information
*[http://www.electionsamachar.com/ News Related to 2009 Elections in India]
*[http://indianelections.blogadda.com Social Media Conversations of Indian Elections 2009]

{{Bihar elections}}
{{Indian elections}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elections In Bihar}}
[[Category:Elections in Bihar| ]]

Elections in Bihar - Revision history

>Dhruv edits at 15:21, 8 January 2022