Election Commission of Bihar

About State Election Commission of Bihar

Bihar is the third largest state in the eastern part of India. A part of the state was carved out to form the state of Jharkhand. The first election for Bihar Assembly took place in the year 1951.

The Bihar State Election Commission is empowered to conduct electoral processes within the state. It is a sole-member Commission overseen by the State Election Commissioner. The presence of this body makes sure that the electoral procedures are all carried out without any biases to ensure the credibility of the nation's democratic framework.

History & its formation

The State Election Commission of Bihar was established as per the Seventy-third Amendment of the Constitution of India. It was formed as a free, federal body, but under the helm of the state government. The basic reason behind the creation of the Commission was to conduct the election to the Panchayats at various levels. Article 243-K of the Constitution of India provides for the powers and responsibilities of the State Election Commission. The Bihar State Election Commission has been vested with the power of superintendence, direction, and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to the three-tier Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies of the State Electoral Laws & System.

As per the constitutional provisions, the elections are conducted by-laws made by the state Assembly. Among the major laws of the Constitution are Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, Bihar Municipal Act, 1922 and The Patna Municipal Corporation Act, 1951. The delimitation of territorial constituencies of the panchayat, the reservation thereof, the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and conduct of elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions are dealt under the Bihar Panchayat Elections Rule, 1995. The delimitation of territorial constituencies of Nagar Parishad and Nagar Panchayats come under the Bihar Municipalities Constitution of Territorial Constituencies Rules, 2001.The Bihar Municipal Election and Election petitions Rules, 1953 deal with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and conduct of election to Nagar Parishad and Nagar Panchayats. The delimitation of territorial constituencies of Nagar Nigam, the reservation thereof, the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and Conduct of Election to Nagar Nigams of the state are the jurisdiction of the Patna Municipal Corporation constitution of territorial constituencies Rules, 2001 and Patna Municipal Corporation preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections Rules, 1951. As per a Supreme Court of India ruling, the Election Commission has the residuary powers under the Constitution to act in an appropriate manner in case the enacted laws are silent or make insufficient provision to deal with a given situation in the conduct of elections. The same holds good for the State Election Commissions as well since a comparison of Article 324 and Article 243K of the Constitution of India would show that the State Election Commission has the same powers with regard to Panchayat/Urban Local Bodies Elections as Election Commission of India has regarding Parliament and state Assemblies.

Chief Electoral Commissioner of Bihar

Shri H. R. Shrinivasa, 1966 batch IAS of Bihar cadre

Electoral Information and Budget

There are approximately 7 Crore eligible voters in Bihar, making it one of the important states for political parties. The last state assembly election was in the year 2015 and the next election is scheduled in October 2020. The state has 243 seats in the Vidhan Sabha and 40 constituencies in Lok Sabha. The Bihar government has allocated approximately 700 Crores for the Election Department in its last budget

Contact Details and Address of State Election Commission, Bihar

Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Address: 7, Sardar Patel Marg (Mangles Road), Patna - 800015, Bihar.
Telephone: 0612-2217956
Fax: 0612-2215611
Email: [email protected]