October 2005 Bihar Legislative Assembly election

October 2005 Bihar Legislative Assembly election

18, 26 October 2005 13, 19 November 2005
243 seats in the Bihar Legislative Assembly
Turnout	45.85%
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Nitish Kumar Sushil Modi Rabri Devi Party JD(U) BJP JD Alliance NDA NDA UPA Leader since 2005 2005 1996 Leader's seat MLC (didn't contested) Did not contest Raghopur Last election 55 37 75 Seats won 88 55 54 Seat change 33 18 21 Popular vote 4,819,759 3,686,720 5,525,081 Percentage 20.46% 15.65% 23.45% Swing 5.91% 4.68% 1.62%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Ram Vilas Paswan Sadanand Singh Party SP INC Alliance NDA UPA Leader since 2000 2005 Leader's seat Did not contest Kahalgong (lost) Last election 29 10 Seats won 10 9 Seat change 19 1 Popular vote 2,615,901 1,435,449 Percentage 11.1% 6.09% Swing 1.09%
Detailed result of 2005 election
Chief Minister before election Rabri Devi JD Elected Chief Minister Nitish Kumar JD(U)

Bihar Assembly elections were held twice in the year 2005. There was a fractured verdict in the February 2005 Assembly Election. Since no government could be formed in Bihar, fresh elections were held in October–November the same year.

The Janata Dal (United) emerged as the majority seat winner after the Oct- Nov 2005 election, and ruled along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (2nd Highest) as part of the National Democratic Alliance. The incumbent chief minister was Nitish Kumar.

One of the oldest political parties in India, the Indian National Congress, surprisingly finished 4th and 5th in both the elections respectively.