Bihar's electoral metamorphosis from 'jungle raj' in 1990s
What's the story
The 2025 Bihar assembly elections vote counting is underway, with early trends showing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading in 202 of the 243 seats. It is well ahead of the majority mark of 122 seats, and is also leading in two-thirds of the total seats. This marks a major shift from the state's past, when elections were marred by violence and repolling.
Historical violence
1985: A year of violence and repolls
The 1985 assembly elections in Bihar were marred by violence, with over 60 people killed and 1,370 incidents of violent activities reported. This led to repolling at 156 booths across the state. The trend continued in subsequent years, with repolling at 63 polling stations, 53 of which were in Bihar, in 1971, and a staggering 159 out of a total of 264 cases nationwide in Bihar in 1984.
Rising unrest
1990: Escalating violence and political assassinations
The situation worsened in 1990, with 1,239 booths going to repolls due to widespread violence. The number of political deaths also rose to 86 that year. Purnea became infamous for its cycle of violent political vendettas during this time. The most shocking incident from this place was the assassination of CPI legislator Ajit Sarkar on June 14, 1998.
Election delays
1995: Election postponements and continued violence
In 1995, then Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan threatened to cancel the assembly elections if violence continued. However, instead of cancellation, the elections were postponed four times that year. However, the polls did indeed take place, to the relief of citizens. Despite these postponements, violence persisted, with at least 1,668 booths going through the entire election process again.
Progress
2005: A decade of improvement
By 2005, under the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) government, things started to improve in Bihar. However, there were still issues with repolling at 660 booths that year. The major turnaround came in 2025 when not a single repoll was required during this year's elections. The elections witnessed record voter turnout, with women leading at a staggering 71.6%. Overall voter participation increased by nearly nine percentage points from the previous election cycle in 2020.