1969 Bihar Legislative Assembly election

An election was held in 1969 to elect members to the Bihar Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the legislature of the Indian state of Bihar. After the elections, the Congress emerged as the largest party, and Harihar Singh was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar.

1969 Bihar legislative assembly election

9 February 1969
318 seats to the Bihar Legislative Assembly 160 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Harihar Singh B. P. Mandal Party INC SSP ABJS Seats won 118 52 34 Popular vote 4,570,413 2,052,274 2,345,780 Percentage 30.46% 13.68% 15.63%   Fourth party Fifth party   Party CPI PSP Seats won 25 18 Popular vote 1,515,105 846,563 Percentage 10.10% 5.64%
CM before election President's rule N/A Elected CM Harihar Singh INC

Three parties contested in a 'Triple Alliance'; the Loktantrik Congress Dal, the Praja Socialist Party and the Samyukta Socialist Party. The Triple Alliance divided 295 out of 318 constituencies between them, assigning 23 seats to the Communist Party of India.[1] The Indian National Congress didn't win enough seats for an absolute majority and formed an alliance with 5 other parties, including the Janata Party, the Bharatiya Kranti Dal, the Bihar Prant Hul Jharkhand, the Shoshit Dal, the Swatantra Party and some Independents.[2]