Nitish Kumar Never Contested Bihar Assembly Elections In Last 30 Years

Nitish first became Chief Minister in 2000 without being a member of either House of the Bihar legislature. He resigned within eight days, unable to secure a seat in time.

Nitish Kumar returned to the Legislative Council in 2018.

Source : PTI

Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar famously stays away from Assembly elections. He last served as an MLA in 1985 and has contested an Assembly seat only once since then, Harnaut in 1995, which he did not retain, choosing instead to continue as a Lok Sabha MP. For nearly three decades, he has consistently taken the Legislative Council route to remain a member of the state legislature.

Why Nitish Kumar Prefers the Legislative Council

Nitish first became Chief Minister in 2000 without being a member of either House of the Bihar legislature. He resigned within eight days, unable to secure a seat in time. When he returned to power in 2005, he again took oath as CM without contesting Assembly elections and subsequently became a member of the Legislative Council (MLC), a pattern he has followed ever since.

Bihar is among six Indian states with a bicameral legislature, allowing ministers to serve through the Legislative Council rather than entering via direct Assembly elections. Nitish completed his first term as an MLC in 2012 and was re-elected, prompting recurring questions about his reluctance to fight Assembly polls.

Addressing this in January 2012, during the Council’s centenary, Nitish said: “I chose to become an MLC by choice and not because of any compulsion. The Upper House is a respectable institution.” He also stated that he would continue seeking re-election to the Council.

Ahead of the 2015 elections, he again clarified that he would not contest an Assembly seat because he did not want to “restrict his focus to one constituency.”

Nitish In Legislative Council

Nitish Kumar returned to the Legislative Council in 2018 for his third consecutive term, which ended in 2024. He secured another term in March 2024, extending his membership in the Council until May 2030.

The 2025 Bihar Assembly elections were held in two phases, November 6 and November 11.