Government of Bihar

{{Main|Governor of Bihar}}

{{See also|Governor (India)}}

The Governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at Union level. Governors exist in the states while lieutenant governors or administrator exist in union territories. According to the Constitution of India, the Governor is a state's head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the states{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} and his/her councils of ministers. The Governor of a State is appointed by the President of India. The factors based on which the President evaluates the candidates is not mentioned in the Constitution.{{cite web|title=article 155, Constitution of India|url=https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/COI_1.pdf}} In his ex-officio capacity, the Governor of Bihar is Chancellor of the universities of Bihar (at present 12) as per the Acts of the Universities.

{{Main|Chief Minister of Bihar}}

{{See also|Chief minister (India)}}

In the Republic of India, a chief minister is the elected head of government of the each state out of 28{{cite web|title=States and Union Territories|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818054533/http://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 18, 2017|website=knowindia.gov.in}} states and sometimes a union territory (currently, only the UTs of Delhi and Puducherry have serving Chief Ministers). Following elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. {{ISBN|978-81-8038-559-9}}. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Bihar as well.

In 1946 First Cabinet of Bihar formed; consisting{{cite web|author=S Shankar|title=The Sri Babu-Anugrah babu government|url=http://www.indiarightsonline.com/Sabrang/india7.nsf/38b852a8345861dd65256a980059289d/43f22a268865987a652570de007d9457?OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527160946/http://www.indiarightsonline.com/Sabrang/india7.nsf/38b852a8345861dd65256a980059289d/43f22a268865987a652570de007d9457?OpenDocument|archive-date=2013-05-27|access-date=2005-04-08|publisher=website}} of two members, Dr. Sri Krishna Sinha as first Chief Minister of Bihar and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha{{cite web|author=Kamat|title=Anugrah Narayan Sinha|url=http://www.kamat.com/database/biographies/anugrah_narayan_sinha.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109021214/http://www.kamat.com/database/biographies/anugrah_narayan_sinha.htm|archive-date=2006-11-09|access-date=2006-11-25|publisher=Kamat's archive}} as Bihar's first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance{{cite book|author=Dr. Rajendra Prasad's Letters to Anugrah Narayan Sinha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQCRixJzOgsC&q=anugrah+babu&pg=PA123|title=First Finance cum Labour Minister|publisher=Rajendra Prasad's archive|year=1984|isbn=9788170230021|access-date=2007-06-25}} Minister (also in charge of Labour, Health, Agriculture and Irrigation). Other ministers were inducted later. The cabinet served as the first Bihar Government after independence in 1947. From 1946, 23 people have been Chief Minister of Bihar. The inaugural holder was Sri Krishna Sinha of the Indian National Congress, he also has the longest incumbency. The current incumbent is Nitish Kumar who is having incumbency since 22 February 2015.

{{Main|Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar}}

File:Samrat Chaudhary wishing Nitish Kumar on his birthday.jpg meeting with longest serving Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar in 2024.]]

Despite being not mentioned in the constitution or law, the Deputy-Chief minister office is often used to pacify factions within the party or coalition. It is similar to the rarely used Deputy-Prime minister post in Central government of India. During the absence of the Chief minister, the deputy-CM may chair cabinet meetings and lead the Assembly majority. Various deputy chief ministers have also taken the oath of secrecy in line with the one that chief minister takes. This oath has also sparked controversies.{{cite web|author=Dhananjay Mahapatra|date=27 December 2017|title=Deputy CM: Not in Constitution, yet a post with a long history|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/deputy-cm-not-in-constitution-yet-a-post-with-a-long-history/articleshow/62259990.cms|access-date=28 June 2019|publisher=Times of India}}{{cite web|author=S. Rajendran|date=13 July 2012|title=Of Deputy Chief Ministers and the Constitution|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/of-deputy-chief-ministers-and-the-constitution/article3632410.ece|access-date=28 June 2019|work=The Hindu}}

{{See also|Ninth Nitish Kumar ministry}}

The government is headed by the governor who appoints the chief minister and his council of ministers. The governor is appointed for five years and acts as the constitutional head of the state. Even though the governor remains the ceremonial head of the state, the day-to-day running of the government is taken care of by the chief minister and his council of ministers in whom a great deal of legislative powers is vested.. The secretariat headed by the secretary to the governor assists the council of ministers. The council of ministers consists of cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers. The chief minister is assisted by the chief secretary, who is the head of the administrative services.

{{Cabinet table start|hiderefcol=y}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Chief Minister
Home
General Administration
Cabinet Secretariat
Vigilance
Election
Other departments not allocated to any Minister

| minister1 = Nitish Kumar

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Deputy Chief Minister
Minister of Finance
Minister of Commercial Taxes

| minister1 = Samrat Choudhary

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Deputy Chief Minister
Minister of Road Construction
Minister of Mines & Geology
Minister of Art, Culture & Youth

| minister1 = Vijay Sinha

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Water Resources
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs

| minister1 = Vijay Chaudhary

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Energy
Minister of Planning & Development

| minister1 = Bijendra Yadav

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Co-operative
Minister of Environment & Forest

| minister1 = Prem Kumar

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Rural Development

| minister1 = Shrawan Kumar

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Information Technology
Minister of Minor Water Resources
Minister of Disaster Managemenet

| minister1 = Santosh Suman

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Hindustani Awam Morcha

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Science & Technology

| minister1 = Sumit Singh

| minister1_termstart = 28 January 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Independent politician

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources

| minister1 = Renu Devi

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Health
Minister of Agriculture

| minister1 = Mangal Pandey

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Public Health Engineering

| minister1 = Neeraj Singh

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Industries
Minister of Tourism

| minister1 = Nitish Mishra

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Urban Development & Housing
Minister of Law

| minister1 = Nitin Nabin

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Revenue & Land Reforms

| minister1 = Dilip Jaiswal

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of SC & ST Welfare

| minister1 = Janak Ram

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of BC & EBC Welfare

| minister1 = Hari Sahni

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Sugarcane Industries

| minister1 = Krishnanandan Paswan

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Panchayati Raj

| minister1 = Kedar Gupta

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Sports

| minister1 = Surendra Mehata

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Labour Resources

| minister1 = Santosh Singh

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Bharatiya Janata Party

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Rural Works

| minister1 = Ashok Choudhary

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Food & Consumer Protection

| minister1 = Leshi Singh

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Social Welfare

| minister1 = Madan Sahni

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Information & Public Relations

| minister1 = Maheshwar Hazari

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Transport

| minister1 = Sheela Mandal

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Education

| minister1 = Sunil Kumar

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Building Construction

| minister1 = Jayant Raj Kushwaha

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Minority Welfare

| minister1 = Zama Khan

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Minister of Excise & Prohibition

| minister1 = Ratnesh Sada

| minister1_termstart = 15 March 2024

| minister1_termend =

| minister1_party = Janata Dal (United)

}}

|}

State governments in India are the governments ruling states of India and the chief minister heads the state government.{{cite journal|last1=Prasad|first1=R. C.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1600996|title=Local Government and Development in India|journal=International Political Science Review / Revue Internationale de Science Politique |year=1980 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=265–279|doi=10.1177/019251218000100210 |jstor=1600996 |s2cid=145673733 |url-access=subscription }} Power is divided between union government and state governments.{{cite journal|last1=Jagannadham|first1=V.|title=Division of Powers in the Indian Constitution |journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science |year=1947 |volume=8 |issue=3 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42743171|pages=742–751|jstor=42743171 }} State government's legislature is bicameral in 6 states and unicameral in the rest.{{cite journal|last1=de Miñón|first1=Miguel Herrero|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/839106|title=The Passing of Bicameralism|journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |year=1975 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=236–254|doi=10.2307/839106 |jstor=839106 |url-access=subscription }} Bihar is one of the six states where bicameral legislature exists. Other states are Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Bihar Legislative Council is Vidhan Parishad serves as the upper house and Bihar Legislative Assembly is Vidhan Sabha serves as the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Bihar. Lower house is elected with 5 years term, while in upper house 1/3 of the total members in the house gets elected every two years with six-year term.

{{main|Bihar Vidhan Sabha}}

{{See also|Vidhan Sabha}}The Vidhan Sabha is also known as Legislative Assembly. The Bihar Legislative Assembly first came into being in 1937 and not a permanent body and 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. 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. The current strength of the House is 243.

{{main|Bihar Vidhan Parishad}}

{{See also|Vidhan Parishad}}The Vidhan Parishad is also known as Legislative Council. Bihar Legislative Council is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution. But as nearly as possible, one-third of the members thereof retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year. Members are now elected or nominated for six years and one-third of them retire every second year. The presiding officers of Vidhan Parishad are now known as chairman and Deputy Chairman. Members of the upper house, the Legislative Council are indirectly elected through an electoral college. There are 27 Committees which are, at present, functional in the council. Besides, there are three Financial Committees consisting of the members of the two Houses of the State Legislature.

{{main|Patna High Court}}

The Patna High Court ({{langx|hi|पटना उच्च न्यायालय}}) is the High Court of the state of Bihar. The Patna High Court is the principal court of the state of Bihar. However, a high court exercises its original civil and criminal jurisdiction only if the subordinate courts are not authorized by law to try such matters for lack of pecuniary, territorial jurisdiction. High courts may also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters, if so designated Specially in a state or federal law It was established on February 3, 1916, and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915 (5 & 6 Geo. 5. c. 61). The court is headquartered in Patna, the administrative capital of the state. A proclamation was made by the Governor-General of India on 22 March 1912. The foundation-stone of the High Court Building was laid on 1 December 1913 by the late Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Sir Charles Hardinge of Penshurst. The Patna High Court building on its completion was formally opened by the same Viceroy on 3 February 1916. Hon. Sir Justice Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier was the first Chief Justice of Patna High Court. This High Court has given two Chief Justices of India: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha, the 6th C.J.I., and Hon. Mr. Justice Lalit Mohan Sharma, the 24th C.J.I.. Hon. Mr Justice K. Vinod Chandran is the current Chief Justice of Patna High Court. Patna High Court has strength of 53 Judges which includes 40 permanent and 13 additional judges.

The District Courts of India are the district courts of the State governments in India for every district or for one or more districts together taking into account of the number of cases, population distribution in the district. They administer justice in India at a district level. Bihar has 37 district courts in total.{{Cite web|title=Bihar/District Court in India {{!}} Official Website of District Court of India|url=https://districts.ecourts.gov.in/bihar|access-date=2021-05-18|website=districts.ecourts.gov.in}}

The Civil Court/District Court is judged by District and Sessions Judge. It is the principal court of original civil jurisdiction besides the High Court of the State and which derives its jurisdiction in civil matters primarily from the code of civil procedure. The district court is also a court of sessions when it exercises its jurisdiction on criminal matters under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The district court is presided over by a district judge appointed by the state governor with on the advice of chief justice of that high court. In addition to the district judge there are a number of additional district and sessions judges and assistant district judges. The additional district judge and the court presided over by the additional district judge have equivalent rank, status and jurisdiction as the district judge and presiding court.{{cite web|title=District Courts of India - official website|url=http://www.indiancourts.nic.in/districtcourt.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122225727/http://indiancourts.nic.in/districtcourt.html|archive-date=22 January 2013|access-date=16 March 2012}} Assistant sessions judge is subordinate to the district judge and additional(s).

{{Main|Elections in Bihar|Politics of Bihar}}

{{See also|Election Commission of India}}India has a quasi-federal form of government, called "union" or "central" government,{{cite web|title=Archived copy|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-4March2016.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416084719/http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-4March2016.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2016|access-date=16 July 2016}} with elected officials at the union, state and local levels. At the national level, the head of government, the prime minister, is appointed by the president of India from the party or coalition that has the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha. The members of the Lok Sabha (Center) and Bihar Vidhan Sabha are directly elected for a term of five years by universal adult suffrage through a first-past-the-post voting system. Members of the Rajya Sabha, which represents the states, are elected by the members of State legislative assemblies by proportional representation, except for 12 members who are nominated by the president. In Bihar Vidhan Parishad, 1/3 of the total members in the house gets elected every 2 years with 6-year term.{{Cite news |date= |title=Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister for the ninth time, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha became Deputy CM for the first time |url=https://www.prabhatkhabar.com/state/bihar/nitish-kumar-took-oath-as-chief-minister-for-9th-time-samrat-chaudhary-and-vijay-sinha-became-deputy-cm-asj |access-date= |work=Prabhat Khabar}}

{{As of|2023|post=,}} there are two main political formations: the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which comprises Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian People's Party), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP (RV)) and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP); and a second alliance between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD, National People's Party), Hindustani Awam Morcha, Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal and Indian National Congress (INC). There are many other political formations. The Communist Party of India had a strong presence in Bihar at one time, which has since weakened.{{cite web|title=State Wise Seat Won & Valid Votes Polled by Political Parties|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/archiveofge2014/17%20-%20State%20wise%20seat%20won%20and%20valid%20votes%20polled%20by%20political%20party.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424233926/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/archiveofge2014/17%20-%20State%20wise%20seat%20won%20and%20valid%20votes%20polled%20by%20political%20party.pdf|archive-date=24 April 2015|access-date=20 September 2015|publisher=Election Commission of India}} The Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(M) and CPM and All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) have a minor presence, along with the other extreme leftist parties.{{cite news|date=25 September 2011|title=The Decline of Communist Mass Base in Bihar: Jagannath Sardar|url=http://kafila.org/2011/09/25/the-decline-of-communist-mass-base-in-bihar-jagannath-sarkar/|url-status=live|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106132116/http://kafila.org/2011/09/25/the-decline-of-communist-mass-base-in-bihar-jagannath-sarkar/|archive-date=6 January 2016|df=dmy-all}}

{{Main|Administration in Bihar}}

Local governments function at the basic level. It is the third level of government apart from union and state governments. It consists of panchayats in rural areas and municipalities in urban areas. They are elected directly or indirectly by the people. {{Administrative structure of Bihar}}

• Information and Public Relations Department, Bihar

• Administration in Bihar
• List of deputy chief ministers of Bihar
• Government of India
• Bihar Economic Survey

• {{Official website|http://gov.bih.nic.in}}

{{Government of Bihar}}

{{Government of India by state or territory}}