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Explore the complete list of Chief Ministers of Bihar from 1947 to 2026, along with their political parties, tenure details, and key historical insights that shaped the state’s political landscape.
List of Chief Ministers of Bihar: Bihar has seen many leaders as chief ministers since 1947. Each chief minister has played an important role in shaping the state. This article gives a list of all Bihar chief ministers from 1947 to 2026, their political parties, and their time in office. It will help you understand Bihar’s political history in a simple way.
Samrat Chaudhary is the new Chief Minister of Bihar in 2026. A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, he took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 15 April 2026. Before assuming this role, he served as the 8th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar under Nitish Kumar, alongside Vijay Kumar Sinha, from 2024.
Born on 16 November 1968, Samrat Chaudhary, also known as Rakesh Kumar, has been an active figure in Bihar politics for many years. He previously served as the President of the BJP Bihar state unit from March 2023 to July 2024. He has also been a member of the Bihar Legislative Council and was later elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly from the Tarapur constituency in 2025.
As the new Chief Minister of Bihar, Samrat Chaudhary’s leadership is expected to play an important role in shaping the state’s political and administrative direction in 2026.
The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, and the council of ministers they lead is answerable to the assembly as a whole. What matters most is that they hold the assembly’s trust and confidence. Chief Minister serves for five years, and there isn’t a set limit to how many terms they can have. Sri Krishna Sinha was Bihar’s very first Chief Minister, and the one who held the position for the shortest time was Satish Prasad Singh. Here is the full list of all the Chief Ministers of Bihar.
| List of all the Chief Ministers of Bihar | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.No. | Chief Minister | From | To | Party | Constituency | Tenure |
| 1 | Sri Krishna Sinha | 2 April 1946 | 31 January 1961 | Indian National Congress | Basantpur West | 13 years, 169 days |
| 2 | Deep Narayan Singh | 1 February 1961 | 18February 1961 | Indian National Congress | Hajipur | 17 days |
| 3 | Binodanand Jha | 18 February 1961 | 2 October 1963 | Indian National Congress | Rajmahal | 2 years, 226 days |
| 4 | K. B. Sahay | 2 October 1963 | 5 March 1967 | Indian National Congress | Patna West | 3 years, 154 days |
| 5 | Mahamaya Prasad Sinha | 5 March 1967 | 28 January 1968 | Jana Kranti Dal | Patna West | 329 days |
| 6 | Satish Prasad Singh | 28 January 1968 | 1 February 1968 | Samyukta Socialist Party | Parbatta | 5 days |
| 7 | B. P. Mandal | 1 February 1968 | 22 March 1968 | Samyukta Socialist Party | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 51 days |
| 8 | Bhola Paswan Shastri | 22March 1968 | 29 June 1968 | Indian National Congress | Korha | 100 days |
| 9 | President rule | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Harihar Singh | 26 February 1969 | 22 June 1969 | Indian National Congress | Nayagram | 117 days |
| 11 | Bhola Paswan Shastri | 22 June 1969 | 4 July 1969 | Indian National Congress | Korha | 13 days |
| 12 | Daroga Prasad Rai | 16 February 1970 | 22 December 1970 | Indian National Congress | Parsa | 315 days |
| 13 | Karpoori Thakur | 22 December 1970 | 2 June 1971 | Socialist Party | Tajpur | 163 days |
| 14 | Bhola Paswan Shastri | 2 June 1971 | 9 January 1972 | Indian National Congress | Korha | 222 days |
| 15 | President rule | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16 | Kedar Pandey | 19 March 1972 | 2 July 1973 | Indian National Congress | Nautan | 1 year, 105 days |
| 17 | Abdul Gafoor | 2 July 1973 | 11 April 1975 | Indian National Congress | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 1 year, 283 days |
| 18 | Jagannath Mishra | 11 April 1975 | 30 April 1977 | Indian National Congress | Jhanjharpur | 2 years, 19 days |
| 19 | President rule | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Karpoori Thakur | 24 June 1977 | 21 April 1979 | Janata Party | Phulpuras | 1 year, 301 days |
| 21 | Ram Sundar Das | 21 April 1979 | 17 February 1980 | Janata Party | Sonepur | 302 days |
| 22 | President rule |
– |
– | – | – | – |
| 23 | Jagannath Mishra | 8 June 1980 | 14 August 1983 | Indian National Congress | Jhanjharpur | 3 years, 67 days |
| 24 | Chandrashekhar Singh | 14 August 1983 | 12 March 1985 | Indian National Congress | 1 year, 210 days | |
| 25 | Bindeshwari Dubey | 14February 1988 | 10 March 1989 | Indian National Congress | Shahpur | 2 years, 338 days |
| 26 | Bhagwat Jha Azad | 11 March 1989 | 6 December 1989 | Indian National Congress | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 1 year, 24 days |
| 27 | Satyendra Narayan Sinha | 6 December 1989 | 10 March 1990 | Indian National Congress | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 270 days |
| 28 | Jagannath Mishra | 10 March 1990 | 28 March 1995 | Indian National Congress | Jhanjharpur | 94 days |
| 29 | Lalu Prasad Yadav |
10 March 1990
|
28 March 1995 | Janata Dal | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 5 years, 18 days |
| 30 | President rule | – | – | – | – | – |
| 31 | Lalu Prasad Yadav | 4 April 1995 | 25 July 1997 | Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal | Raghopur | 2 years, 112 days |
| 32 | President rule | – | – | – | – | – |
| 33 | Rabri Devi | 25 July 1997 | 11 February 1999 | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 1 year, 201 days |
| 34 | President rule | – | – | – | – | |
| 35 | Rabri Devi | 9 March 1999 | 2 March 2000 | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 359 days |
| 36 | Nitish Kumar | 3 March 2000 | 10 March 2000 | Samata Party | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 7 days |
| 37 | Rabri Devi | 11 March 2000 | 6 March 2005 | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Raghopur | 4 years, 360 days |
| 38 | President rule | – | – | – | ||
| 39 | Nitish Kumar | 24 November 2005
26November 2010 |
26 November 2010
20 May 2014 |
Janata Dal (United) | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 8 years, 177 days |
| 40 | Jita Ram Manjhi | 20 May 2014 | 22 February 2015 | Janata Dal (United) | Makhdumpur | 278 days |
| 41 | Nitish Kumar | 22 February 2015
|
9 August 2022
|
Janata Dal (United) | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | 8 years, 175 days |
| 42 | Nitish Kumar | 10 August 2022 | 16 November 2025 | Janata Dal (United) | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | |
| 43 | Nitish Kumar | 20 November 2025 | Present | Janata Dal (United) | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | |
| 44 | Samrat Chaudhary | 15 April 2026 | Present | Bharatiya Janta Parti (BJP) | Member of Bihar Legislative Council | |
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Bihar had a coalition government led by the Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nitish Kumar from JD(U) is the Chief Minister.
Rabri Devi, the wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav, became the first woman to serve as the Chief Minister of Bihar. She held this position from 1997 to 2005, succeeding her husband after he had to resign due to his conviction in the Fodder Scam case.
The longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar is Nitish Kumar, who has served for nearly 19 years across multiple terms, making him the most enduring leader in the state's history.
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