Representative image indicating Bihar elections.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bihar Legislative Assembly is one of the largest state legislatures in India. With 243 members, the Bihar Vidhan Sabha is at the number 4 in terms of the strength of the House. Only 3 other states - Uttar Pradesh (403), West Bengal (294) and Maharashtra (288) have more members in the assembly than Bihar.
Simple majority of 122 is the magic number in the Bihar assembly and any party or alliance aspiring to form the govt have at least these many members.
2020 elections gave the state its 17th Legislative Assembly which will complete its term in November 2025.
The current composition of the Bihar State Assembly is the true reflection of state’s deeply fragmented political landscape, where dynamic coalitions and loyalties often decide the balance of power.
These were the results of 2020 Bihar Assembly Elections
| Alliance | Party | Vote Share (%) | Seats won |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDA | Bharatiya Janata Party | 19.46 | 74 |
| Janata Dal (United) | 15.39 | 43 | |
| Vikassheel Insaan Party | 1.52 | 4 | |
| Hindustani Awam Morcha | 0.89 | 4 | |
| 125 | |||
| MGB | Rashtriya Janata Dal | 23.11 | 75 |
| Indian National Congress | 9.48 | 19 | |
| Communist Party of India (ML) L | 3.16 | 12 | |
| Communist Party of India | 0.83 | 2 | |
| Communist Party of India (M) | 0.65 | 2 | |
| 110 | |||
| Others | AIMIM | 1.24 | 5 |
| Bahujan Samaj Party | 1.49 | 1 | |
| Lok Janshakti Party | 5.66 | 1 | |
| Independents | 8.64 | 1 | |
| 8 |
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), narrowly, managed to retain power by securing 125 seats. In the NDA, BJP emerged as the stronger force by winning 78 seats, while Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) could win only 45 seats. Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM-S) and Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) contributed 4 seats, each. Nitish Kumar returned as Chief Minister but BJP enjoyed a more dominant position in the alliance than in previous terms.
Talking about the opposition, Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly with 79 MLAs. Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav became the face of the Opposition and continues to be a key challenger to Nitish Kumar’s leadership. The Mahagathbandhan (MGB) had Congress winning 19 seats. Left parties — mainly the CPI(ML)(L), CPI and CPI(M), together won 16 seats. The alliance could win 110 seats in total.
Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), won 5 seats but later 4 of its MLAs later switched allegiance to the RJD. Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) and Bahujan Samaj Party could win 1 seat, each and one independent reached the Assembly in 2020 elections.