Elections to the Rajya Sabha are held at regular interval with one third of the members retiring in a staggered manner.
The elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly are conducted along similar lines with the major difference being size of constituencies.
The state was dominated by Indian National Congress until the decade of 1970s with parties like BJP and Janata Dal gaining prominence.
For the purpose of elections every party is assigned a symbol to help voters in recognizing the candidate they support.
Currently, the state of Bihar sends 40 representatives to the Lok Sabha, elected through a first past the post system.
In the 2010 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, the National Democratic Alliance formed the state government having secured a simple majority of 206 seats.
With the creation of Jharkhand, as a result of the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 passed by the Parliament, the strength of the Bihar Legislative Council has been reduced from 96 to 75 members Araria · Arrah · Aurangabad · Banka · Begusarai · Bhagalpur · Buxar · Darbhanga · Gaya · Gopalganj · Hajipur · Jahanabad · Jamui · Jhanjharpur · Karakat · Katihar · Khagaria · Kishanganj · Madhepura · Madhubani · Maharajganj · Munger · Muzaffarpur · Nalanda · Nawada · Paschim Champaran · Pataliputra · Patna Sahib · Purnia · Purvi Champaran · Samastipur · Saran · Sasaram · Sheohar · Sitamarhi · Siwan · Supaul · Ujiarpur · Vaishali · Valmiki Nagar 1989-1999 Total Seats- 54 Total Seats- 40 The Election Commission's Model Code of Conduct enters into force as soon as the notification for polls is issued.
This places restrictions on the campaigning by political parties as well as prohibits certain government actions that would unduly influence the election.
The electoral process is the same as in the rest of India with Electronic Voting Machines being used for all Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.
For few cities in Bihar, the voter registration forms can be generated online and submitted to the nearest electoral office.
Despite the report submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee two years ago, the Government has so far failed to act on the recommendations.
Several civic society organizations have urged the government to amend the RPA act to allow NRI's and people on the move to cast their vote through absentee ballot system.