India: Bihar vote leaves Muslims with steepest drop in representation

BIHAR, India (MNTV) – India’s provincial elections in Bihar have handed a decisive victory to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which crossed the 200-seat mark in the 243-member state Assembly.

Yet the results also highlight a sharp decline in political representation for the state’s Muslim community.

Bihar, one of India’s most politically influential states and home to one of the country’s largest Muslim populations, marked its lowest number of Muslim legislators in more than a decade.

Only 11 Muslim candidates were able to secure a win, despite the community accounting for nearly 17.7% of the state’s population.

Victorious Muslim candidates

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Bihar

• Jokihat – Mohammad Murshid Alam | Votes: 83,737 | Margin: 28,803 |
• Bahadurganj – Md. Tauseef Alam | Votes: 87,315 | Margin: 28,726 |
• Kochadhaman – Md. Sarwar Alam | Votes: 81,860 | Margin: 23,021 |
• Amour – Akhtarul Iman | Votes: 100,836 | Margin: 38,928 |
• Baisi – Ghulam Sarwar | Votes: 92,766 | Margin: 27, 251 |

Janata Dal (United) – JD(U)

• Chainpur – Md. Zama Khan | Votes: 70,876 | Margin: 8,362 |

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)

• Bisfi – Asif Ahmad | Votes: 100,771 | Margin: 8,107|
• Dhaka – Faisal Rahman | Votes: 112,727 | Margin: 178 |
• Raghunathpur – Osama Shahab | Votes: 88,278 | Margin: 9,248 |

Indian National Congress

• Araria – Abidur Rahman | Votes: 91529 | Margin: 12,741 |
• Kishanganj – Md Qamrul Hoda | Votes: 89,669 | Margin: 12,794 |

A decade of decline

Muslim representation in Bihar has been steadily shrinking. In 2015, the state elected 24 Muslim legislators; this fell to 19 in 2020, even after AIMIM made gains in the Seemanchal region—a northeastern belt of Bihar with a concentrated Muslim population. Four of those AIMIM legislators later defected to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Following the 2024 national election, Bihar sent only one Muslim member to India’s national parliament: Mohammad Jawed from Kishanganj.

The decline is driven by fewer tickets being offered to Muslim candidates and their heavy concentration in a narrow set of constituencies, mainly Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia, and Katihar.

Muslim candidates remain largely absent from mixed or urban constituencies such as Patna, Darbhanga, and Gaya. In many areas, three-way electoral contests further enabled narrow victories for the NDA.

The shrinking number of Muslim lawmakers reduces the community’s influence over cabinet posts, committee work, and budget priorities.

Key policy areas—including madrasa education reforms, minority scholarships, flood-control infrastructure in Kosi–Seemanchal, and border-area livelihoods—risk being deprioritized.

Concerns over voter roll deletions in parts of Seemanchal have further heightened distrust in the electoral process, even as legal challenges continue.

From 24 Muslim legislators in 2015 to just 11 now, Bihar’s elections highlight a dramatic contraction in minority representation.

Observers say the 2025 elections will indicate whether this gap narrows or becomes the new normal in the state’s political landscape.