Congress' dismal outing in Bihar polls: Tracing party's past performances

The Indian National Congress (INC), once a major force in Bihar’s politics, has gradually lost influence over the years, contesting elections as a junior partner in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) this year. The 2025 Bihar Election results marked one of the party’s worst performances in the state.

 

According to data from the Election Commission of India (ECI), as of 4:30 pm, the Congress was leading on only five seats. Since the counting began at 8 am, the party’s numbers remained stuck in the single digits, hovering between 6 and 8 seats at most. The poor performance has once again raised questions about the party’s future and relevance in Bihar’s political landscape. 

 

Here’s a look at how the party has performed in Bihar over the years and how the party's popularity declined after the state's bifurcation.

Congress in Bihar over the years

The Congress was once a major political party in Bihar, especially before the state’s bifurcation in 2000. It regularly ranked among the top three parties. In the 1985 elections, Congress won a clear majority with 196 seats, after which Chandrashekhar Singh became Chief Minister. In the 1990 elections, Congress emerged as the second-largest party, winning 71 seats, which is widely seen as its last strong performance. The party’s final phase of significant leadership in Bihar came under Jagannath Mishra, who served as Chief Minister in 1990. 

 

However, Congress’s influence began to decline rapidly. In the 1995 elections, the party’s tally fell sharply to just 29 seats, signalling the beginning of a long-term slide.

How Congress performed after Bihar’s bifurcation

In 2000, Bihar was divided to create the new state of Jharkhand. The bifurcation reshaped Bihar’s political landscape and led to the rise of regional parties such as the Janata Dal (United) and RJD. In the 2000 Assembly elections (held before bifurcation), Congress finished fourth with 23 seats.

 

In 2005, Bihar saw two Assembly elections due to a hung verdict in the February polls. Fresh elections were held in October–November, where Congress managed only a 6.1 per cent vote share, reflecting its shrinking base. Congress briefly saw an improvement in later years, securing 27 seats in 2015 and maintaining a similar presence in the following elections.

 

Here's how Congress performed in Bihar:

• 2010 – 4 seats, 8.4% vote share
• 2015 – 27 seats, 6.8% vote share
• 2020 – 19 seats, 9.6% vote share

Congress in 2025 Bihar Assembly elections

In the 2025 elections, the Congress contested 60 seats as part of an alliance with the RJD. This was noticeably fewer than the 77 seats it contested in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections.