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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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
