The 2000 Assembly Deadlock: When No Party Could Rule Bihar

Months after the BJP, under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, returned to power at the Centre in 1999, they set their eyes on Bihar. Their frontman in the state was going to be Nitish Kumar, already a minister in the Centre.

The February 2000 election, contrary to most predictions, threw a hung verdict, once again proving that the political pulse of Bihar wasn't an easy one to predict.  

The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, emerged as the single largest party with 124 seats in the 324-member Assembly. The BJP and its NDA partners, including the Samata Party led by Nitish Kumar, secured a combined total of 122 seats, leaving both sides short of the magic number of 163.

Also Read: "Governance Se Power Milta Hai Kya?" The 1992 Lalu Yadav-Nitish Kumar Split

Build Up To The 2000 Polls

The months leading up to the polls were exciting, particularly for the buoyant BJP. The party, riding high on its strong show in the 1999 General Election, allied with Nitish Kumar's Samata Party and other regional players such as Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan.

Paswan later split from the Janata Dal to form the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), and many others, including Sunil Pandey, elected from Piro on a Samata Party ticket, and Rajan Tiwari (Independent) would later join him.

Exit polls predicted a NDA sweep and the RJD was seen as a sinking ship, haunted by corruption scandals and accusations of 'jungle raj'.

The Bihar electorate had other plans. Lalu Prasad Yadav's politics, despite criticisms of misgovernance and nepotism, had its core strength intact: staunch opposition to communalism and what Lalu called the divisive politics of the BJP-RSS.

While the NDA projected an anti-corruption, anti-RJD agenda, Lalu's party focused on the greater threat to India's secular fabric. The message resonated with voters across the state, especially the marginalised communities.

Also Read: The Dimming Of Democracy's Carnival: From Bihar 1995 To Bihar 2025

The 2000 Deadlock

The result was a constitutional deadlock. Despite lacking a majority, Nitish Kumar was invited by Governor Vinod Chandra Pande to form the government and was sworn in as Chief Minister on March 3, 2000. He had the backing of 151 NDA and allied MLAs.

The NDA-led central government, under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, backed Nitish's appointment, with Home Minister LK Advani and Union Minister George Fernandes playing instrumental roles. The RJD protested, and Lalu Yadav's supporters staged demonstrations.

Both camps claimed majority support, closely monitoring their MLAs.

The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, had 159 seats. The majority mark was 163 seats.

Nitish Kumar Resigns As Chief Minister

Before facing a floor test in the Assembly, Nitish Kumar resigned. The RJD, leveraging its political acumen, ensured Rabri Devi was back in the Chief Minister's office. 

The deadlock also showed the challenges of India's federal system. In the previous two years, the BJP-led central government had tried twice to use Article 356 to dismiss the RJD government but failed.

The political landscape was further complicated by the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000. Passed by Parliament and signed into law by the NDA government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it led to the creation of Jharkhand on November 15, 2000.

Bihar Assembly Elections 2025

Cut to 2025, Bihar is gearing up for another election, with the state locked in an intense battle. The ruling NDA, led by Nitish Kumar, faces the RJD-Congress-Left alliance led by Tejashwi Yadav, with Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj and the AAP contesting independently.