New DelhiOctober 18, 2025 05:32 PM IST
First published on: Oct 18, 2025 at 05:32 PM IST
In Bihar, there are 96 sitting legislators with dynastic backgrounds, from state MLAs and MLCs to Parliamentarians, accounting for 27% of all lawmakers from Bihar and 9% of all sitting legislators across the country, an analysis by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has found.
Of the total 5,203 MPs, MLAs and MLCs in India, 1,106 have dynastic backgrounds or those whose immediate or extended family members are or have been elected officials and held other significant government posts, the ADR said in its report published in September. These leaders account for 21% of all sitting legislators.
While Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of dynastic sitting legislators, at 141 of the total 604 MLAs, MLCs and MPs, it is Haryana that has the highest proportion of dynastic lawmakers at 35% (or 36 out of 104).
Top 10 states on dynastic sitting legislators
While Bihar has the third highest number of dynastic legislators at 96, its 27% share of dynastic politicians is the country’s seventh highest. Of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha MPs, 15 have dynastic backgrounds, accounting for 37.5% of the total. In the Rajya Sabha, just one MP is from a political family out of a total 16 Upper House MPs. While the 243-member Assembly has 66 such Parliamentarians, making up 27% of the total House strength, the 75-member Legislative Council has 16 dynastic MLC who have a 21% share.
Among the Bihar-based parties, the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) have the highest number of dynastic legislators at 31 and 25, respectively. While RJD has a total 100 sitting legislators and the JD(U) has 81, for both parties the proportion of dynastic lawmakers stands at 31%.
Dynastic sitting legislators among Bihar parties
The other Bihar-based parties with dynastic sitting legislators are the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which has four out of a total eight legislators, and the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), which has three of a total six lawmakers. The CPI(ML)(L) has two such legislators out of a total 16 for a 13% share.
The BJP and Congress, both national parties, have 370 and 258 legislators with dynastic backgrounds. But these leaders make up 17% and 32%, respectively, of the parties’ total legislators across the country. In Bihar, the BJP has 21 such legislators (or 17% of its total 124 sitting Bihar leaders), while the Congress has 13 dynastic legislators (or 29% of the total 45).
A gender breakdown of these sitting legislators shows that there are 855 men and 251 women with dynastic backgrounds. Among the states, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Sikkim have the highest share of women among dynastic legislators with each at more than 50%. In Bihar, women accounted for 26% of all dynastic legislators, compared to the national average of 23%. The lowest proportions of women were in Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and J&K at 5%, 6.3% and 9.3%, respectively.