40% of new Bihar MLAs have no college degree, women comprise 12% of total House strength
New Delhi (PTI): Around 12 per cent of the newly elected MLAs in Bihar are women, a marginal increase from the last polls, while around 40 per cent members in the new assembly do not have college degrees, according to a report by think-tank PRS Legislative Research.
The report also showed that the number of MLAs aged more than 55 years has increased following the Bihar assembly elections.
The ruling NDA decimated the Mahagathbandhan by winning 202 seats in the 243-member House to retain power in Bihar. The scale of the victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) can be gauged from the fact that its two main constituents-- BJP and JD(U) -- clocked a nearly 85 per cent strike rate in 101 seats each they had contested.
An analysis of the results by PRS Legislative Research showed the 243-member assembly will now have 29 women MLAs, which is around 12 per cent of the total strength of the House. The previous assembly had 26 women members.
Of the 29 women elected to the assembly, 13 are aged between 25 and 39 years, and nine between 40 and 54 years. About half of them -- 15 MLAs -- do not have college degrees.
Overall, the average age of the assembly has increased. The percentage of MLAs aged 55 or above increased from 34 per cent in 2015 to 40 per cent in 2020, and to 46 per cent in 2025.
MLAs with post-graduate degrees in the new assembly increased to 28 per cent compared to 23 per cent in 2020. The proportion of those with qualifications up to higher secondary level increased to 40 per cent from 38 per cent in 2020.
Around 32 per cent of the newly elected MLAs are graduates, compared to 40 per cent in the previous assembly.
Politics, social work and agriculture are the most common professions among the new MLAs.
Around 60 per cent of the recently elected legislators have listed politics and social work as their profession. Agriculture is the profession of 45 per cent of the new MLAs, 31 per cent have listed business as their profession, while five per cent are salaried professionals, the report said.
Around 58 per cent of the sitting MLAs who fought the elections won. The PRS report said that out of the 250 MLAs who were part of the previous assembly, including those who won bypolls, 192 contested the 2025 elections, and 111 of them secured victories.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
