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State dossier 05 · Bihar
Bihar since Independence.
A boundary-aware public record of constitutional government, elections, people, economy, heritage, nature, civic movements and accountability.
Comparison rule: figures before 15 November 2000 describe undivided Bihar, including the territory that became Jharkhand. Population, economy, elections and development data must retain the geography applicable to their year.
243Assembly constituencies
40Lok Sabha constituencies
104,099,452Census 2011 population
2UNESCO World Heritage properties
Territorial record
Pre-2000 and present-day Bihar are different statistical geographies.
1947Province of Bihar at Independence
1950–1956Constitutional State; boundary adjustments under reorganisation
15 NOV 2000Jharkhand created under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000
Bihar Reorganisation Act · Lok Bhavan history.
Chief Ministers and constitutional administration
| Chief Minister / administration | Exact period | Party / status |
| Shri Krishna Singh | 2 Jan 1946–31 Jan 1961 | INC |
| Deep Narayan Singh | 1–18 Feb 1961 | INC; acting |
| Binodanand Jha | 18 Feb 1961–2 Oct 1963 | INC |
| Krishna Ballabh Sahay | 2 Oct 1963–5 Mar 1967 | INC |
| Mahamaya Prasad Sinha | 5 Mar 1967–28 Jan 1968 | Samyukta Vidhayak Dal coalition |
| Satish Prasad Singh | 28 Jan–1 Feb 1968 | Acting coalition ministry |
| B. P. Mandal | 1 Feb–22 Mar 1968 | Coalition ministry |
| Bhola Paswan Shastri | 22 Mar–29 Jun 1968 | First ministry |
| President’s Rule | 29 Jun 1968–26 Feb 1969 | Article 356 |
| Harihar Singh | 26 Feb–22 Jun 1969 | INC |
| Bhola Paswan Shastri | 22 Jun–4 Jul 1969 | Second ministry |
| President’s Rule | 4 Jul 1969–16 Feb 1970 | Article 356 |
| Daroga Prasad Rai | 16 Feb–22 Dec 1970 | INC |
| Karpoori Thakur | 22 Dec 1970–2 Jun 1971 | Socialist-led coalition |
| Bhola Paswan Shastri | 2 Jun 1971–9 Jan 1972 | Third ministry |
| President’s Rule | 9 Jan–19 Mar 1972 | Article 356 |
| Kedar Pandey | 19 Mar 1972–2 Jul 1973 | INC |
| Abdul Ghafoor | 2 Jul 1973–11 Apr 1975 | INC |
| Jagannath Mishra | 11 Apr 1975–30 Apr 1977 | INC; first ministry |
| President’s Rule | 30 Apr–24 Jun 1977 | Article 356 |
| Karpoori Thakur | 24 Jun 1977–21 Apr 1979 | Janata Party |
| Ram Sundar Das | 21 Apr 1979–17 Feb 1980 | Janata Party |
| President’s Rule | 17 Feb–8 Jun 1980 | Article 356 |
| Jagannath Mishra | 8 Jun 1980–14 Aug 1983 | INC; second ministry |
| Chandrashekhar Singh | 14 Aug 1983–12 Mar 1985 | INC |
| Bindeshwari Dubey | 12 Mar 1985–13 Feb 1988 | INC |
| Bhagwat Jha Azad | 14 Feb 1988–10 Mar 1989 | INC |
| Satyendra Narayan Sinha | 11 Mar–6 Dec 1989 | INC |
| Jagannath Mishra | 6 Dec 1989–10 Mar 1990 | INC; third ministry |
| Lalu Prasad | 10 Mar 1990–25 Jul 1997 | Janata Dal; RJD transition in 1997 |
| Rabri Devi | 25 Jul 1997–11 Feb 1999 | RJD; first ministry |
| President’s Rule | 12 Feb–8 Mar 1999 | Article 356 |
| Rabri Devi | 9 Mar 1999–2 Mar 2000 | RJD; second ministry |
| Nitish Kumar | 3–10 Mar 2000 | Samata Party-led NDA |
| Rabri Devi | 11 Mar 2000–6 Mar 2005 | RJD; third ministry |
| President’s Rule | 7 Mar–24 Nov 2005 | Article 356 |
| Nitish Kumar | 24 Nov 2005–20 May 2014 | JD(U)-led successive ministries |
| Jitan Ram Manjhi | 20 May 2014–22 Feb 2015 | JD(U) |
| Nitish Kumar | 22 Feb 2015–14 Apr 2026 | JD(U); successive ministries and alliance changes |
| Samrat Choudhary | 15 Apr 2026–present | BJP-led NDA |
CM Secretariat chronology and current office · Bihar Vidhan Sabha.
Governors since Independence
| Governor | Official tenure |
| Jairamdas Daulatram | 15 Aug 1947–11 Jan 1948 |
| Madhav Shrihari Aney | 12 Jan 1948–14 Jun 1952 |
| R. R. Diwakar | 15 Jun 1952–5 Jul 1957 |
| Zakir Husain | 6 Jul 1957–11 May 1962 |
| M. A. Ayyangar | 12 May 1962–6 Dec 1967 |
| Nityanand Kanungo | 7 Dec 1967–20 Jan 1971 |
| Justice U. N. Sinha | 21–31 Jan 1971 · officiating |
| Devkant Baruah | 1 Feb 1971–4 Feb 1973 |
| R. D. Bhandare | 4 Feb 1973–15 Jun 1976 |
| Jagan Nath Kaushal | 16 Jun 1976–31 Jan 1979 |
| Justice K. B. N. Singh | 31 Jan–19 Sep 1979 · officiating |
| A. R. Kidwai | 20 Sep 1979–15 Mar 1985 |
| P. Venkatasubbaiah | 15 Mar 1985–25 Feb 1988 |
| Govind Narain Singh | 26 Feb 1988–24 Jan 1989 |
| Justice Dipak Kumar Sen | 24–28 Jan 1989 · officiating |
| R. D. Pradhan | 29 Jan–2 Mar 1989 · officiating |
| Jagannath Pahadia | 3 Mar 1989–2 Feb 1990 |
| Justice G. G. Sohoni | 2–16 Feb 1990 · officiating |
| Mohammad Yunus Saleem | 16 Feb 1990–13 Feb 1991 |
| B. Satyanarayan Reddy | 14 Feb–18 Mar 1991 · officiating |
| Mohammad Shafi Qureshi | 19 Mar 1991–13 Aug 1993 |
| A. R. Kidwai | 14 Aug 1993–26 Apr 1998 |
| Sunder Singh Bhandari | 27 Apr 1998–15 Mar 1999 |
| Justice B. M. Lal | 15 Mar–5 Oct 1999 · officiating |
| Suraj Bhan | 6 Oct–22 Nov 1999 · officiating |
| Vinod Chandra Pande | 23 Nov 1999–12 Jun 2003 |
| Justice M. Rama Jois | 12 Jun 2003–31 Oct 2004 |
| Ved Prakash Marwah | 1–4 Nov 2004 · officiating |
| Buta Singh | 5 Nov 2004–30 Jan 2006 |
| Gopalkrishna Gandhi | 31 Jan–21 Jun 2006 · officiating |
| R. S. Gavai | 22 Jun 2006–10 Jul 2008 |
| R. L. Bhatia | 10 Jul 2008–28 Jun 2009 |
| Devanand Konwar | 29 Jun 2009–21 Mar 2013 |
| D. Y. Patil | 22 Mar 2013–26 Nov 2014 |
| Keshari Nath Tripathi | 27 Nov 2014–15 Aug 2015 · additional charge |
| Ram Nath Kovind | 16 Aug 2015–21 Jun 2017 |
| Keshari Nath Tripathi | 22 Jun–3 Oct 2017 · additional charge |
| Satya Pal Malik | 4 Oct 2017–22 Aug 2018 |
| Lalji Tandon | 23 Aug 2018–28 Jul 2019 |
| Phagu Chauhan | 29 Jul 2019–16 Feb 2023 |
| Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | 17 Feb 2023–1 Jan 2025 |
| Arif Mohammed Khan | 2 Jan 2025–13 Mar 2026 |
| Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) | 14 Mar 2026–present |
Lok Bhavan complete archive · current Governor. Officiating and additional-charge periods remain visible.
Cabinets and portfolios
Current ministry · April–May 2026
Samrat Choudhary took the Chief Minister’s oath on 15 April 2026. Bihar Lok Bhavan records a further ministerial oath ceremony on 7 May 2026. The live Government directory and dated allocation notifications control the current portfolio roster.
Historical roster rule
Every oath after an election or alliance change is treated as a distinct ministry. Names and portfolios are never projected backward without a dated Gazette, Cabinet Secretariat or Assembly record.
Lok Bhavan oath record · Government departments and ministers · Bihar e-Gazette.
Assembly elections, representation and parties
| Election(s) | Government-forming mandate | Context |
|---|
| 1951, 1957, 1962 | INC | Congress-majority era in undivided Bihar. |
| 1967, 1969 | Fragmented mandates | Coalition ministries and President’s Rule. |
| 1972 | INC | Congress returned. |
| 1977 | Janata Party | Post-Emergency change. |
| 1980, 1985 | INC | Congress governments. |
| 1990, 1995 | Janata Dal | Lalu Prasad ministries; RJD formed in 1997. |
| 2000 | Hung Assembly; RJD government followed | Last election before Jharkhand’s separation. |
| Feb 2005 | No government formed | President’s Rule and dissolution. |
| Oct–Nov 2005, 2010 | JD(U)-BJP alliance | NDA ministries. |
| 2015 | Mahagathbandhan | Coalition changed in 2017. |
| 2020, 2025 | NDA | Final constituency votes are controlled by ECI Form 20. |
Bihar has 243 Assembly and 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. ECI publishes State election reports from 1951 through 2025; CEO Bihar’s Form 20 collection is the final constituency-level record for 2025. Party recognition and symbols are controlled by ECI.
ECI statistical reports · 2025 Form 20 archive · ECI party register.
People, economy and development
| Measure | Verified figure | Status |
|---|
| Population | 104,099,452 | Census 2011; present-day boundary |
| Literacy rate | 61.80% | Census 2011 |
| GSDP, 2024–25 | ₹9,91,997 crore | Current prices; Bihar DES figure used in Finance Accounts |
| Revenue balance, 2024–25 | ₹358 crore deficit | CAG actual |
| Fiscal deficit, 2024–25 | ₹41,224 crore; about 4% of GSDP | CAG actual |
| Capital expenditure, 2024–25 | ₹40,981 crore | CAG actual |
| GSDP, 2026–27 | ₹13,09,155 crore | Budget estimate; current prices |
The Jharkhand boundary break, price basis and actual/revised/budget status stay attached to every series. Economic outcomes are not assigned personally to a Chief Minister merely because dates overlap.
Census India · Bihar Finance Department and Economic Survey · CAG Accounts 2024–25.
Heritage, culture and protected nature
Mahabodhi Temple Complex
UNESCO cultural World Heritage property at Bodh Gaya, inscribed in 2002.
Nalanda Mahavihara
UNESCO cultural property inscribed in 2016: a 23-hectare archaeological site protected and managed by ASI.
Valmiki Tiger Reserve
Bihar’s sole tiger reserve, in the Himalayan foothills of West Champaran. Sensitive wildlife locations are not reproduced.
Kabartal Wetland
Ramsar Site 2436 in Begusarai, designated 21 July 2020, covering 2,620 hectares. Legal designations are not interchangeable.
Mahabodhi · Nalanda · NTCA Valmiki profile · Ramsar Kabartal record.
Civic movements and political change
| Record | Demand / actors | Outcome and impact |
|---|
| Bihar Movement / “Total Revolution”, 1974–1975 | Student organisations and Jayaprakash Narayan mobilised around corruption, prices, unemployment and institutional change. | A major national opposition mobilisation before the Emergency; later leaders and parties emerged from its networks. |
| Jharkhand movement | Long-running organisations sought a separate State for southern regions of undivided Bihar. | Parliament enacted the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000; Jharkhand was created on 15 November 2000. |
| Social-justice mobilisation | Backward-class representation and implementation debates intensified from the late 1970s and 1990s. | Reshaped party competition and policy; claims about individual causation require documentary evidence. |
Bihar Reorganisation Act · national movements collection.
Audits and public accountability
| Record | Label | Scope |
|---|
| CAG State Finances 2024–25, Report 2 of 2026 | Financial audit | Revenue, expenditure, fiscal balance, debt and budget management; tabled 23 July 2026. |
| CAG Report 1 of 2026 | Performance/compliance audit | Civil departments for the period ended March 2024. |
| CAG Report 3 of 2025 | Compliance audit | Civil administration for the period ended March 2023. |
| CAG Report 4 of 2024 | Performance audit | Public-health infrastructure and management of health services. |
Audit observation, allegation, inquiry, investigation, FIR, charge sheet, trial, conviction, acquittal, closure and appeal are separate statuses. No person is labelled guilty without a final judicial conviction.
CAG Bihar archive · State Finances 2024–25 · methodology.
Source ledger
Leadership: CM Secretariat, Vidhan Sabha and Lok Bhavan · Boundaries: Parliament, India Code and Lok Bhavan · Cabinets: Lok Bhavan, Bihar Government and e-Gazette · Elections and parties: ECI, CEO Bihar and Form 20 · Population: Census India · Economy: Bihar Finance/DES and CAG · Heritage: UNESCO and ASI · Nature: MoEFCC, NTCA, Ramsar and State Forest records · Movements: statutes and institutional archives · Accountability: CAG, courts and authorised agencies. Checked 2 September 2026.