Voters wait in a queue at a polling station during the final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, in Jehanabad
The recently concluded 2025 Bihar Assembly elections stood out for many things — the NDA’s sweeping win, years of pro-incumbency, cash-for-transfer schemes, and a weakened opposition, among others. Another defining feature of this Election is that the State, which has a significant Muslim population, is now set to have its lowest number of Muslim legislators since 2000.
The number of elected Muslim MLAs in Bihar has fallen to 11 in 2025, the lowest in years and a 42% decline from the 2020 Assembly election, when 19 Muslim legislators were elected.
Muslims make up 17.7% of Bihar’s population, according to the 2022 Bihar Caste Census. While they have historically been underrepresented in the State Assembly, accounting for less than 10% of its members, this election marks a new low, with their presence in the 243-member House dropping to just 4.5%.
Five of the ten Muslim MLAs were fielded by the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). This is followed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Indian National Congress, with three and two Muslim elected representatives respectively. Md. Zama Khan from Janata Dal (United) is the sole Muslim MLA from the winning alliance.
One reason for the reduced number of Muslim MLAs could be the spoiler effect caused by AIMIM in constituencies where it failed to win but split the vote.
Another factor could be the reduced number of Muslim candidates contesting the 2025 election. An analysis of candidates who contested this year’s Bihar elections shows that Muslims made up only 11.8% of the total candidate pool. This share drops further to 7.6% when independents are excluded, reflecting only Muslim candidates fielded by political parties.
Published – November 18, 2025 08:00 am IST
