SnehAnchliya at 11:38, 24 March 2026

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{{short description|Indian State Government}}
{{infobox government
| government_name = Government of Bihar
| image = File:Seal of Bihar.svg
| image_size = 200px
| caption =
| division_type = [[Seat of government|Seat of Government]]
| division = [[Patna]]
| leader_type = [[Governor of Bihar|Governor]] (Head of the State)
| leader_title = [[Syed Ata Hasnain]]
| leader_type2 = [[Chief Minister of Bihar|Chief Minister]] (Head of Government)
| leader_title2 = [[Nitish Kumar]], {{Party index link|Janata Dal (United) }}
| leader_type3 = [[Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar|Deputy Chief Minister]] (Deputy Head of Government)
| leader_title3 = [[Vijay Kumar Sinha]], {{Party index link|Bharatiya Janata Party}} [[Samrat Choudhary]], {{Party index link|Bharatiya Janta Party}}
| legislature_label = [[State legislative assemblies of India|Assembly]]
| legislature = {{ubl|[[Bihar Legislative Assembly]]|}}
| speaker_label = [[List of speakers of the Bihar Legislative Assembly|Speaker of the House]]
| speaker = [[Nand Kishore Yadav]]<ref>{{cite web |title=BJP's Nand Kishore Yadav elected unopposed as Bihar Assembly Speaker |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/bihar/bjps-nand-kishore-yadav-elected-unopposed-as-bihar-assembly-speaker-2895649 |website=Deccan Herald |access-date=15 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
| deputy_speaker_label = [[List of speakers of the Bihar Legislative Assembly|Deputy Speaker of the House]]
| deputy_speaker = [[Narendra Narayan Yadav]]<ref>{{cite web |title=JD(U)'s Narendra Narayan Yadav elected unopposed as Bihar assembly deputy speaker |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/patna/jdus-narendra-narayan-yadav-bihar-assembly-deputy-speaker-9176762/lite/ |website=The Indian Express |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=en |date=23 February 2024}}</ref>
| members_in_assembly_label = [[Bihar Vidhan Sabha|Members in Assembly]]
| members_in_assembly = 243
| legislative_council_label = [[State legislative councils of India|Council]]
| legislative_council = [[Bihar Legislative Council]]
| chairman_label = [[List of chairpersons of the Bihar Legislative Council|Chairperson of Council]]
| chairman = [[Awadhesh Narain Singh]]
| deputy_chairman =
| members_in_council_label = [[Bihar Vidhan Parishad|Members in Council]]
| leader_type4 = [[Chief Secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]] (Head of Civil Service)
| leader_title4 = Pratyaya Amrit, ([[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]])
| members_in_council = 75 (63 Elected + 12 Nominated)
| branch4 = [[Judiciary of India|Judiciary]]
| government_form = [[Bicameralism|Bicameral]]
| country = {{flag|India}}

| court_name = [[High courts of India|High Court]]
| court = [[Patna High Court]]
| chief_justice_label = [[List of current Indian chief justices|Chief Justice]]
| chief_justice = Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo
| seat = 53
| image4 =
| website = {{URL|https://state.bihar.gov.in}}
}}
{{Politics of Bihar}}

The '''Government of Bihar''' is the [[State governments of India|state government]] of the [[States and territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Bihar]] and its nine [[Divisions of Bihar|divisions]] which consist of [[Districts of Bihar|districts]]. It consists of an executive, led by the [[Governor of Bihar]], a [[Administration in Bihar#Judiciary|judiciary]] and [[Administration in Bihar#Legislature|legislative branches]].

Like other [[States and territories of India|states in India]], the head of state of Bihar is the [[Governor]], appointed by the [[President of India]] on the advice of the [[Government of India|central government]]. The head of state is largely ceremonial. The [[Chief Minister]] is the head of government and is vested with most of the executive powers. [[Patna]] is the [[Capital (political)|capital]] of Bihar hence, it serves as the headquarter for almost all the departments.

The [[Patna High Court]], located in Patna, has jurisdiction over the whole state. The present legislative structure of Bihar is [[bicameral]]. The [[Legislative]] houses are the [[Bihar Vidhan Sabha]] ([[Bihar Legislative Assembly]]) and [[Bihar Vidhan Parishad]] ([[Bihar Legislative Council]]). Their normal term is five years, unless dissolved earlier.

==Executive ==

=== Governor ===
{{Main|Governor of Bihar}}
{{See also|Governor (India)}}
The '''Governors''' of the [[states of India]] have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the [[President of India]] at Union level. Governors exist in the [[States of India|states]] while lieutenant governors or administrator exist in [[union territories]]. According to the [[Constitution of India]], the [[Governor (India)|Governor]] is a state's head, but ''[[de facto]]'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the [[Chief Ministers of India|Chief ministers of the states]]{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} and his/her councils of ministers. The Governor of a State is appointed by the President of India. The factors based on which the President evaluates the candidates is not mentioned in the Constitution.<ref>{{cite web|title=article 155, Constitution of India|url=https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI_1.pdf}}</ref> In his ex-officio capacity, the Governor of Bihar is Chancellor of the universities of Bihar (at present 12) as per the Acts of the Universities.

=== Chief Minister ===
{{Main|Chief Minister of Bihar}}

{{See also|Chief minister (India)}}
In the [[Republic of India]], a '''chief minister''' is the elected [[head of government]] of the each state out of 28<ref>{{cite web|title=States and Union Territories|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818054533/http://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 18, 2017|website=knowindia.gov.in}}</ref> states and sometimes a union territory (currently, only the UTs of [[Delhi]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] have serving Chief Ministers). Following elections to the [[Bihar Legislative Assembly]], the governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose [[Cabinet (government)|council of ministers]] are [[Cabinet collective responsibility|collectively responsible]] to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no [[term limit]]s.<ref name="term1">[[Durga Das Basu]]. ''Introduction to the Constitution of India''. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. {{ISBN|978-81-8038-559-9}}. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Bihar as well.</ref>

In 1946 First Cabinet of Bihar formed; consisting<ref>{{cite web|author=S Shankar|title=The Sri Babu-Anugrah babu government|url=http://www.indiarightsonline.com/Sabrang/india7.nsf/38b852a8345861dd65256a980059289d/43f22a268865987a652570de007d9457?OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527160946/http://www.indiarightsonline.com/Sabrang/india7.nsf/38b852a8345861dd65256a980059289d/43f22a268865987a652570de007d9457?OpenDocument|archive-date=2013-05-27|access-date=2005-04-08|publisher=website}}</ref> of two members, Dr. [[Sri Krishna Sinha]] as first [[List of Chief Ministers of Bihar|Chief Minister of Bihar]] and Dr. [[Anugrah Narayan Sinha]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Kamat|title=Anugrah Narayan Sinha|url=http://www.kamat.com/database/biographies/anugrah_narayan_sinha.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109021214/http://www.kamat.com/database/biographies/anugrah_narayan_sinha.htm|archive-date=2006-11-09|access-date=2006-11-25|publisher=Kamat's archive}}</ref> as Bihar's first [[List of Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar|Deputy Chief Minister]] cum Finance<ref>{{cite book|author=Dr. Rajendra Prasad's Letters to Anugrah Narayan Sinha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQCRixJzOgsC&q=anugrah+babu&pg=PA123|title=First Finance cum Labour Minister|publisher=Rajendra Prasad's archive|year=1984|isbn=9788170230021|access-date=2007-06-25}}</ref> Minister (also in charge of Labour, Health, Agriculture and Irrigation). Other ministers were inducted later. The cabinet served as the first Bihar Government after independence in 1947. From 1946, 23 people have been Chief Minister of Bihar. The inaugural holder was [[Sri Krishna Sinha]] of the [[Indian National Congress]], he also has the longest incumbency. The current incumbent is [[Nitish Kumar]] who is having incumbency since 22 February 2015.

=== Deputy Chief Minister ===
{{Main|Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar}}

[[File:Samrat Chaudhary wishing Nitish Kumar on his birthday.jpg|thumb|Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, [[Samrat Chaudhary]] meeting with longest serving Chief Minister of Bihar, [[Nitish Kumar]] in 2024.]]
Despite being not mentioned in the constitution or law, the Deputy-Chief minister office is often used to pacify factions within the party or coalition. It is similar to the rarely used Deputy-Prime minister post in Central government of India. During the absence of the Chief minister, the deputy-CM may chair cabinet meetings and lead the Assembly majority. Various deputy chief ministers have also taken the oath of secrecy in line with the one that chief minister takes. This oath has also sparked controversies.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dhananjay Mahapatra|date=27 December 2017|title=Deputy CM: Not in Constitution, yet a post with a long history|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/deputy-cm-not-in-constitution-yet-a-post-with-a-long-history/articleshow/62259990.cms|access-date=28 June 2019|publisher=Times of India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=S. Rajendran|date=13 July 2012|title=Of Deputy Chief Ministers and the Constitution|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/of-deputy-chief-ministers-and-the-constitution/article3632410.ece|access-date=28 June 2019|work=The Hindu}}</ref>

=== Ministry ===
{{See also|Tenth Nitish Kumar ministry}}

The government is headed by the governor who appoints the chief minister and his council of ministers. The governor is appointed for five years and acts as the constitutional head of the state. Even though the governor remains the ceremonial head of the state, the day-to-day running of the government is taken care of by the chief minister and his council of ministers in whom a great deal of legislative powers is vested.. The secretariat headed by the secretary to the governor assists the council of ministers. The council of ministers consists of cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers. The chief minister is assisted by the chief secretary, who is the head of the administrative services.
{{transcluded section|Tenth Nitish Kumar ministry#Council of Ministers}}
{{trim|{{#section-h:Tenth Nitish Kumar ministry|Council of Ministers}}}}

== Legislature ==
[[State government]]s in India are the governments ruling [[states of India]] and the [[Chief Minister (India)|chief minister]] heads the state government.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Prasad|first1=R. C.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1600996|title=Local Government and Development in India|journal=International Political Science Review / Revue Internationale de Science Politique |year=1980 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=265–279|doi=10.1177/019251218000100210 |jstor=1600996 |s2cid=145673733 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Power is [[Federalism in India|divided]] between union government and state governments.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jagannadham|first1=V.|title=Division of Powers in the Indian Constitution |journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science |year=1947 |volume=8 |issue=3 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42743171|pages=742–751|jstor=42743171 }}</ref> State government's legislature is [[bicameral]] in [[List of states of India by type of legislature|6 states]] and [[unicameral]] in the rest.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Miñón|first1=Miguel Herrero|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/839106|title=The Passing of Bicameralism|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |year=1975 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=236–254|doi=10.2307/839106 |jstor=839106 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Bihar is one of the six states where bicameral legislature exists. Other [[States and territories of India|states]] are [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Karnataka]], [[Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad|Maharashtra]], [[Telangana]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]]. The [[Bihar Legislative Council]] is [[Vidhan Parishad]] serves as the upper house and [[Bihar Legislative Assembly]] is [[Vidhan Sabha]] serves as the lower house of the [[bicameral]] legislature of the [[India]]n state of [[Bihar]]. Lower house is elected with 5 years term, while in upper house 1/3 of the total members in the house gets elected every two years with six-year term.

=== Vidhan Sabha ===
{{main|Bihar Vidhan Sabha}}

{{See also|Vidhan Sabha}}The Vidhan Sabha is also known as Legislative Assembly. The Bihar Legislative Assembly first came into being in 1937 and not a permanent body and subject to dissolution. The tenure of the [[Vidhan Sabha|Legislative Assembly]] is five years from the date appointed for its first sitting unless dissolved sooner. Members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected by the people. There are three sessions (Budget session, Monsoon session, Winter session) every year. The Sessions of Legislative Assembly are presided by Speaker. The Speaker certifies that whether a bill is ordinary bill or money bill. Generally he does not participate in voting but he casts his vote in the case of tie. The current strength of the House is 243.

=== Vidhan Parishad ===
{{main|Bihar Vidhan Parishad}}

{{See also|Vidhan Parishad}}The [[Vidhan Parishad]] is also known as Legislative Council. Bihar Legislative Council is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution. But as nearly as possible, one-third of the members thereof retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year. Members are now elected or nominated for six years and one-third of them retire every second year. The presiding officers of Vidhan Parishad are now known as chairman and deputy chairman. Members of the upper house, the [[Legislative Council]] are indirectly elected through an electoral college. There are 27 Committees which are, at present, functional in the council. Besides, there are three Financial Committees consisting of the members of the two Houses of the State Legislature.

== Judiciary ==
=== High Court ===
{{main|Patna High Court}}

The [[Patna High Court]] ({{langx|hi|पटना उच्च न्यायालय}}) is the [[High Courts of India|High Court]] of the [[Indian state|state]] of Bihar. The [[Patna High Court]] is the principal court of the state of [[Bihar]]. However, a high court exercises its original civil and criminal jurisdiction only if the subordinate courts are not authorized by law to try such matters for lack of pecuniary, territorial jurisdiction. High courts may also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters, if so designated Specially in a state or federal law It was established on February 3, 1916, and later affiliated under the [[Government of India Act 1915]] ([[5 & 6 Geo. 5]]. c. 61). The court is headquartered in Patna, the administrative [[List of Indian state and union territory capitals|capital]] of the [[States and territories of India|state]]. A proclamation was made by the Governor-General of India on 22 March 1912. The foundation-stone of the High Court Building was laid on 1 December 1913 by the late Viceroy and Governor-General of India, [[Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst|Sir Charles Hardinge]] of Penshurst. The Patna High Court building on its completion was formally opened by the [[Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst|same Viceroy]] on 3 February 1916. Hon. Sir Justice [[Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier]] was the first Chief Justice of Patna High Court. This High Court has given two [[Chief Justice of India|Chief Justices of India]]: Hon'ble Mr. Justice [[Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha]], the 6th [[Chief Justice of India|C.J.I.]], and Hon. Mr. Justice [[Lalit Mohan Sharma]], the 24th C.J.I.. Hon. Mr Justice Sudhir Singh is the current Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court. [[Patna High Court]] has strength of 53 Judges which includes 40 permanent and 13 additional judges.

=== District Courts ===
The '''District Courts''' of [[India]] are the [[district court]]s of the [[State governments in India]] for every district or for one or more districts together taking into account of the number of cases, population distribution in the district. They administer justice in India at a [[Districts of India|district]] level. Bihar has [[List of district courts in India#Bihar (37)|37 district courts]] in total.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bihar/District Court in India {{!}} Official Website of District Court of India|url=https://districts.ecourts.gov.in/bihar|access-date=2021-05-18|website=districts.ecourts.gov.in}}</ref>

The Civil Court/District Court is judged by District and Sessions Judge. It is the principal court of [[Original jurisdiction|original]] [[Civil law (common law)|civil jurisdiction]] besides the High Court of the State and which derives its jurisdiction in civil matters primarily from the code of civil procedure. The district court is also a court of sessions when it exercises its jurisdiction on criminal matters under the [[Code of Criminal Procedure (India)|Code of Criminal Procedure]]. The district court is presided over by a district judge appointed by the state governor with on the advice of chief justice of that high court. In addition to the district judge there are a number of additional district and sessions judges and assistant district judges. The additional district judge and the court presided over by the additional district judge have equivalent rank, status and jurisdiction as the district judge and presiding court.<ref name="District Courts of India - official website">{{cite web|title=District Courts of India - official website|url=http://www.indiancourts.nic.in/districtcourt.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122225727/http://indiancourts.nic.in/districtcourt.html|archive-date=22 January 2013|access-date=16 March 2012}}</ref> Assistant sessions judge is subordinate to the district judge and additional(s).

== Elections and Politics ==
{{Main|Elections in Bihar|Politics of Bihar}}

{{See also|Election Commission of India}}India has a [[Federalism|quasi-federal]] form of government, called "union" or "central" government,<ref>{{cite web|title=Archived copy|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-4March2016.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416084719/http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-4March2016.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2016|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref> with elected officials at the union, state and local levels. At the national level, the [[head of government]], the [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]], is appointed by the [[president of India]] from the party or coalition that has the majority of seats in the [[Lok Sabha]]. The members of the [[Lok Sabha]] (Center) and [[Bihar Vidhan Sabha]] are directly elected for a term of five years by [[Universal suffrage|universal adult suffrage]] through a [[first-past-the-post]] voting system. Members of the [[Rajya Sabha]], which represents the [[States of India|states]], are elected by the members of State legislative assemblies by [[proportional representation]], except for 12 members who are nominated by the president. In [[Bihar Vidhan Parishad]], 1/3 of the total members in the house gets elected every 2 years with 6-year term.<ref>{{Cite news |date= |title=Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister for the ninth time, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha became Deputy CM for the first time |url=https://www.prabhatkhabar.com/state/bihar/nitish-kumar-took-oath-as-chief-minister-for-9th-time-samrat-chaudhary-and-vijay-sinha-became-deputy-cm-asj |access-date= |work=Prabhat Khabar}}</ref>

{{As of|2023|post=,}} there are two main political formations: the [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA) which comprises [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP, Indian People's Party), [[Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)]] (LJP (RV)) and [[Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party]] (RLJP); and a second alliance between [[Rashtriya Janata Dal]] (RJD, National People's Party), [[Hindustani Awam Morcha]], [[Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal]] and [[Indian National Congress]] (INC). There are many other political formations. The [[Communist Party of India]] had a strong presence in Bihar at one time, which has since weakened.<ref>{{cite web|title=State Wise Seat Won & Valid Votes Polled by Political Parties|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/archiveofge2014/17%20-%20State%20wise%20seat%20won%20and%20valid%20votes%20polled%20by%20political%20party.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424233926/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/archiveofge2014/17%20-%20State%20wise%20seat%20won%20and%20valid%20votes%20polled%20by%20political%20party.pdf|archive-date=24 April 2015|access-date=20 September 2015|publisher=Election Commission of India}}</ref> The [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] CPI(M) and CPM and [[All India Forward Bloc]] (AIFB) have a minor presence, along with the other extreme leftist parties.<ref>{{cite news|date=25 September 2011|title=The Decline of Communist Mass Base in Bihar: Jagannath Sardar|url=http://kafila.org/2011/09/25/the-decline-of-communist-mass-base-in-bihar-jagannath-sarkar/|url-status=live|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106132116/http://kafila.org/2011/09/25/the-decline-of-communist-mass-base-in-bihar-jagannath-sarkar/|archive-date=6 January 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Administration and Local governments ==
{{Main|Administration in Bihar}}

Local governments function at the basic level. It is the third level of government apart from union and state governments. It consists of [[Local self-government in India|panchayats]] in rural areas and [[Municipal governance in India|municipalities]] in urban areas. They are elected directly or indirectly by the people. {{Administrative structure of Bihar}}

== Government agencies ==
*[[Information and Public Relations Department, Bihar]]

== See also ==
* [[Administration in Bihar]]
* [[List of deputy chief ministers of Bihar]]
* [[Government of India]]
* [[Bihar Economic Survey]]
*[[Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://gov.bih.nic.in}}

{{Government of Bihar}}
{{Government of India by state or territory}}

[[Category:Government of Bihar| ]]

Government of Bihar - Revision history

SnehAnchliya at 11:38, 24 March 2026