The chief minister of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

serves as the head of the

Government of Bihar Bihar Government is the State governments of India, state government of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Bihar and its nine Divisions of Bihar, divisions which consist of Districts of Bihar, districts. It consists of an execut ...

, overseeing its administration and governance within the constitutional framework of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. While the

Governor of Bihar The governor of Bihar is the nominal head of the Indian state of Bihar. The governor is appointed by the president of India. Arif Mohammad Khan is the current governor of Bihar. Former President Zakir Husain and Ram Nath Kovind were two such ...

holds the ceremonial role of the constitutional head, real

executive authority The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

rests with the chief minister, who is responsible for implementing

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

and managing the state’s day-to-day affairs. Appointed by the Governor following elections to the

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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is ...

, the chief minister is typically the leader of the majority

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

in the assembly. Upon taking office, they form a

council of ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

, assigning portfolios to manage various government departments. This council operates collectively under the chief minister’s leadership and remains accountable to the legislative assembly. Responsibilities of the office include leading cabinet meetings, drafting and implementing state policies, and presenting the annual

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

. In addition to maintaining law and order, the chief minister directs efforts toward

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

public welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

, and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

improvement. Coordination with the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

and advocacy for Bihar’s interests at the national level are also integral parts of the role. Policy proposals and legislative initiatives are often introduced under the chief minister’s guidance, shaping the government’s agenda in the assembly. Administrative oversight is another key function, ensuring government departments and officials deliver

public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

efficiently and in line with policy objectives. The position carries a five-year term, concurrent with the tenure of the legislative assembly. However, tenure depends on retaining the confidence of the assembly, as the chief minister can be removed through a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

. There are no

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

, allowing for multiple consecutive or non-consecutive terms. Since its establishment in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, the office has grown in influence, reflecting shifts in state politics and governance. The role has become central to Bihar’s administration, with successive holders contributing to the state’s

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, and

social development Social development can refer to: * Psychosocial development * Social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at ...

efforts. From 1946, 23 people have been chief minister of Bihar. The current incumbent is

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the 22nd chief minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. He is Bihar's longest ...

who is having incumbency since 22 February 2015. The longest incumbent chief minister of Bihar held to

List

Prime ministers from Bihar

Before independence, Bihar was part of the larger

Bihar and Orissa Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then ...

province, which was divided into two separate provinces on 1 April 1936. The

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 42) was an Act of Parliament (UK), act passed by the British Parliament that originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest act that the British Parliament ever enact ...

introduced a bicameral legislature in Bihar, with a Legislative Assembly and a Legislatory Council, headed by the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Shri Krishna Sinha Shri Krishna Singh (Sinha) (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first List of chief ministers of Bihar, chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was ...

became the first Premier in 1937, leading a government formed by the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. He continued as Bihar’s leader after independence, becoming the first

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

in 1946. The role of premier was replaced by the chief minister after India's independence in 1947, with Bihar’s political leadership transitioning to a new democratic framework.

Chief ministers of Bihar

Key

Colour key for political parties * No.: Incumbent number * Assassinated or died in office * Resigned * Resigned following a

no-confidence motion A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

Statistics

References

Notes

One of the achievements of the Bihar Government is that they have launched a Medhasoft Application for the students so that deserving students in the state get scholarships and the amount will be directly transferred to their account. However, in order to get this, school authorities have to upload all their student's details in the Medhasoft web portal.

Citations

External links

{{Chief_Ministers of Indian States

Government of Bihar Chief Ministers Lists of government ministers of Bihar