Who ruled Bihar from 2000 to 2020? A look at two decades of elections

The Election Commission of India has announced the complete schedule for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections on Monday (Oct 6, 2025), where elections for all 243 assembly seats will be conducted in two phases for the first time in history. Polling for the first phase of 121 constituencies is scheduled for 6 November, while the second phase will be held on 11 November for the remaining 122 seats. The counting of votes and results will be announced on 14 November.

This Assembly election will decide whether Nitish Kumar-led NDA will retain power in Bihar or RJD will return to the helm of the government for the first time in 20 years, along with its allies or the newly formed Jan Suraaj party, led by Prashant Kishor, could make a full surprise. But before looking ahead, let’s revisit the past and trace the history of Bihar Assembly elections from 2000 to 2020 to see which parties came to power and with how many seats.

Bihar Assembly Elections 2000

In the Bihar Assembly election of 2000, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won the most seats, with 124 in the 324-member assembly. However, the RJD failed to secure a majority on its own. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 67 seats, the Samata Party (SAP) 34 seats, the Indian National Congress (INC) 23 seats, the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) 21 seats and others.

After the election, no single party or pre-election alliance achieved the 163 seats required for a majority. Nitish Kumar, who was a leader of the Samata Party, an ally of the NDA, was elected Chief Minister but resigned after seven days, as his party and alliance could not prove their numbers in the assembly. Subsequently, RJD leader Rabri Devi was sworn in as the Chief Minister.

Bihar Assembly Elections 2005

In 2005, two legislative assembly elections were held in Bihar. The first election in February resulted in a hung assembly and the imposition of President's Rule. A second election was held in October of the same year, where the Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party formed an alliance that won a majority, and Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister.

Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)): Won 88 seats.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): Won 55 seats.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD): Won 54 seats.

Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP): Won 10 seats.

Indian National Congress (INC): Won 9 seats.

Bihar Assembly Elections 2010

In the 2010 Bihar assembly election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clinched a landslide victory with 206 out of 243 seats. The alliance was led by the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The seat distribution was as follows:

Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)): 115 seats

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 91 seats

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD): 22 seats

Indian National Congress (INC): 4 seats

Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP): 3 seats

Communist Party of India (CPI): 1 seat

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM): 1 seat

Independent candidates: 6 seats

Bihar Assembly Elections 2015

In the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, the Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (United) (JDU) and the Congress secured 178 seats of the 243 seats in the state, marking a massive win by the grand alliance.

Meanwhile, the BJP faced defeat and the seats were reduced to just 53. And the BJP allies – the Lok Janshakti Party, the Hindustani Awam Morcha and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party won just 5 out of the 86 seats that they had contested.

In these elections, the RJD emerged as the single largest party with 80 seats, followed by JD (U) with 71 seats and BJP with 53 seats. After the results, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the fifth term.

Bihar Assembly Elections 2020

In the 2020 Bihar assembly election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a majority with 125 seats and formed the government after the coalition with Nitish Kumar's party Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), which became the junior partner in the alliance for the first time.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA):

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 74 seats

Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)): 43 seats

Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP): 4 seats

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAM(S)): 4 seats

Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance):

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD): 75 seats

Indian National Congress (INC): 19 seats

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (Liberation) (CPI(ML)(L)): 12 seats

Communist Party of India (CPI): 2 seats

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)): 2 seats

Other parties:

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM): 5 seats

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP): 1 seat

Others: 2 seats