| Bihar Legislative Assembly | |
| Native Name: | Bihar Vidhan Sabha |
| Coa Pic: | Seal of Bihar.svg |
| Legislature: | 17th Bihar Assembly |
| House Type: | Lower house |
| Body: | Bihar Legislature |
| Term Limits: | 5 years |
| Leader1 Type: | Governor of Bihar |
| Leader1: | Rajendra Arlekar |
| Election1: | 17 February 2023 |
| Leader2 Type: | Secretary-in-charge to the Legislature |
| Leader2: | Smt khyati Singh |
| Leader3 Type: | Speaker |
| Leader3: | Nand Kishore Yadav |
| Party3: | BJP[1] |
| Election3: | 15 February 2024 |
| Leader4 Type: | Deputy Speaker |
| Leader4: | Narendra Narayan Yadav[2] |
| Party4: | JD(U) |
| Election4: | 23 February 2024 |
| Leader5 Type: | Leader of the House |
| Leader5: | Nitish Kumar |
| Party5: | JD(U) |
| Election5: | 22 February 2015 |
| Leader6 Type: | Deputy Leader of the House |
| Leader6: | Vijay Kumar Sinha, BJP Samrat Choudhary |
| Party6: | BJP |
| Election6: | 28 January 2024 |
| Leader7 Type: | Leader of the Opposition |
| Leader7: | Tejashwi Yadav |
| Party7: | RJD |
| Election7: | 14 February 2024 |
| Members: | 243 |
| Structure1: | File:India Bihar Vidhan Sabha 2024.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 300px |
| Political Groups1: | Government (134) NDA (134)
Official Opposition (107) INDIA (105)
Other opposition (1) Vacant (4) |
| Voting System1: | First-past-the-post |
| Last Election1: | October - November 2020 |
| Next Election1: | October - November 2025 |
| Session Room: | Vidhan-sabha-bihar.jpg |
| Session Res: | 250 |
| Meeting Place: | Bihar State Assembly, Patna, Bihar, India |
| Website: | Bihar Legislative Assembly |
The Bihar Legislative Assembly also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha is the lower house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India. The first state elections were held in 1952.[5]
Before partition of Bihar, the total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated member. After partition, seats were reduced to 243 members. Shri Krishna Singh became the first Leader of the House and the first Chief Minister, Anugrah Narayan Singh was elected as the first Deputy Leader of the house and the first Deputy Chief Minister.[6]
After the passing of the Government of India Act 1935, Bihar and Orissa became separate states. A bicameral system of legislature was introduced according to the act. In 22 July 1936, first Bihar legislative council was set up. It had 30 members and Rajiv Ranjan Prasad was the chairman. First joint session of the two houses of the Bihar Assembly took place in 22 July 1937. Ram Dayalu Singh was elected as the speaker of the Bihar Assembly.[7]
Following are the dates of constitution and dissolution of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. First sitting date and date of completion of term for each Vidhan Sabha can be different from the constitution and dissolution dates (respectively).
| Vidhan Sabha | Constitution | Dissolution | Days | Speaker | Ministry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interim Government | 25 April 1946 | 19 May 1952 | 2,041 | Bindeshwari Prasad Verma | First Shri Krishna Sinha ministry | |
| 1st | 20 May 1952 | 31 March 1957 | 1,776 | Second Shri Krishna Sinha ministry | ||
| 2nd | 20 May 1957 | 15 March 1962 | 1,760 | Third Shri Krishna Sinha ministry (Till 1961) Deep Narayan Singh interim ministry (17 days) First Binodanand Jha ministry (1961-62) | ||
| 3rd | 16 March 1962 | 16 March 1967 | 1,826 | Dr Laxmi Narayan Sudhanshu | ||
| 4th | 17 March 1967 | 26 February 1969 | 712 | Dhaniklal Mandal | ||
| 5th | 26 February 1969 | 28 March 1972 | 1,126 | Ram Narayan Mandal | ||
| 6th | 29 March 1972 | 30 April 1977 | 1,858 | Hari Nath Mishr | ||
| 7th | 24 June 1977 | 17 February 1980 | 968 | Tripurari Prasad Singh | ||
| 8th | 8 June 1980 | 12 March 1985 | 1,738 | Radhanandan Jha | ||
| 9th | 12 March 1985 | 10 March 1990 | 1,824 | Shiva Chandra Jha (till 1989)Md Hidayatullah Khan | ||
| 10th | 10 March 1990 | 28 March 1995 | 1,844 | Ghulam Sarwar | ||
| 11th | 4 April 1995 | 2 March 2000 | 1,795 | Devnarayan Yadav | ||
| 12th | 3 March 2000 | 6 March 2005 | 1,830 | Sadanand Singh | ||
| 13th | 7 March 2005 | 24 November 2005 | 263 | Uday Narayan Chaudhary | ||
| 14th | 24 November 2005 | 26 November 2010 | 1,829 | Second Nitish Kumar ministry | ||
| 15th | 26 November 2010 | 20 November 2015 | 1,821 | Third Nitish Kumar ministry (2010–14) Jitan Ram Manjhi ministry (2014-15) Fourth Nitish Kumar ministry (2015-15) | ||
| 16th | 20 November 2015 | 14 November 2020[8] | 1,821 | Vijay Kumar Chaudhary | Fifth Nitish Kumar ministry (2015–17) Sixth Nitish Kumar ministry (2017-20) | |
| 17th | 16 November 2020 | Incumbent | Vijay Kumar Sinha (till 9 August 2022)Awadh Bihari Choudhary (till 28 January 2024) Nand Kishore Yadav (since 15 February 2024)[9] | Seventh Nitish Kumar ministry (2020-22) Eighth Nitish Kumar ministry (2022-2024) Ninth Nitish Kumar ministry (2024-present) |
The Bihar Legislative Assembly is not a permanent body and is subject to dissolution. The tenure of the 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 and 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. Nand Kishore Yadav is the current Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly.The Legislative Assembly also has a Secretariat which is headed by Secretary. He is under the disciplinary control of Speaker. The function of Secretary is to assist the Speaker. Bateshwar Nath Pandey is the current Secretary of Bihar Legislative Assembly.