National parties declined in Bihar politics since 1977. Since 2000, regional parties like RJD and JDU have dominated. The key to power is with these parties, whereas BJP-Congress are now in the role of allies.
Patna: Today, the politics of Bihar revolves around two prominent faces, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav. However, before this, the key to power in Bihar was in the hands of different parties, especially Congress. But the 1977 assembly elections (Bihar Politics 1977-2025) proved to be a historic turning point, which permanently changed the power structure of the state. The election took place just after the end of the Emergency and marked the first time that the Congress Party, which had consistently been the largest party since independence, was relegated to second place in the state. This mandate of 1977 became the initial chapter in the story of the decline of national parties and the rise of regional political powers in Bihar.
Historic fall of Congress
From independence till 1972, Congress remained the largest party in every assembly election held in Bihar. In the 1985 elections, Congress demonstrated its historic strength for the last time by winning more than 100 seats (196 seats) in the state.
Subsequently, Congress once again came second in the 1990 assembly elections, when the Janata Dal formed the government with a clear majority. This was the period when the dominance of regional parties started increasing in Bihar and ‘Mandal politics’ gained momentum.
Unshakeable dominance of regional parties (2000-2020)
Janata Dal formed the government in the elections of 1990 and 1995, but later this party weakened and divided into various regional factions, which mainly included Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal United (JDU). In all the 6 assembly elections held in Bihar from 2000 to 2020, every time the largest party has been a regional party…
- Largest party in 2000: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
- Party Type: Regional
- Leader (Chief): Lalu Prasad Yadav
- Largest party in February 2005: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
- Party Type: Regional
- Leader (Chief): Lalu Prasad Yadav
- Largest party in October 2005: Janata Dal United (JDU)
- Party Type: Regional
- Leader (Chief): Nitish Kumar
- Largest party in 2010: Janata Dal United (JDU)
- Party Type: Regional
- Leader (Chief): Nitish Kumar
- Largest party in 2015: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
- Party Type: Regional
- Leader (Chief): Lalu Prasad Yadav/Tejashwi Yadav
- Largest party in 2020: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
- Party Type: Regional
- Leader (Chief): Tejashwi Yadav
BJP’s struggle and challenge of 100 seats
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested the assembly elections in Bihar for the first time in 1980, in which it won only 21 seats despite fielding 246 candidates. Since then, the BJP has contested 10 assembly elections, but has never been able to cross the 100-seat mark. In the 2010 elections, BJP gave its best performance by winning 91 seats, but still failed to form the government alone and remained in power in alliance with JDU. In 2020, BJP won 74 seats, while JDU got 43 seats. Despite this, the post of Chief Minister was handed over to Nitish Kumar in the alliance.
The key to power lies with regional parties
The politics of Bihar since 1977 has established that the national parties (Congress and BJP), which used to be the center of power, are now mostly in the role of allies.
In the present scenario, regional parties like RJD and JDU dominate the political horizon of Bihar and the keys to power remain with them. This dominance of regional parties on 243 assembly seats of Bihar continues even today. Crossing the 100 seats mark is still a big challenge for the BJP, while the Congress is trying to regain its lost political ground.