Misplaced Pages

#474525

63-531: Official Opposition (20) Other opposition (6) Vacant (1) Bihar Legislative Council also known as Bihar Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India . A new Province of Bihar and Odisha was created by the Government of India on 12 December 1911. The Legislative Council with a total of 43 members belonging to different categories

126-545: A Democrat) in the 20th century. Some officials have been elected as members of a party but became independent while in office (without being elected as such), such as Wayne Morse of Oregon, who left the Republican party to become an independent, then joined the Democratic Party two years later. Nebraska senator George W. Norris was elected for four terms as a Republican before changing to an independent after

189-462: A Democrat) received 21% of the vote. In Texas , country music singer and mystery novelist Kinky Friedman received 12.43% of the vote, and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn received 18.13%. Strayhorn and Friedman's presence in the race resulted in a splitting of the ballot four ways between themselves and the two major parties. In 2010 , Florida governor Charlie Crist left the Republican party and became an independent. (He later became

252-469: A Democrat.) He left the Republicans because he did not want to run against former state house Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate election, preferring to run in the general. Rubio won the election, though Crist came in ahead of Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek . In 2014 , former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann ran as an independent candidate for the governorship of

315-617: A handful of independent members . Examples include Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Virgil Goode of Virginia, Frazier Reams of Ohio , Victor Berger of Wisconsin , and Justin Amash and Paul Mitchell of Michigan . There have been several independents elected to the United States Senate throughout history. Notable examples include David Davis of Illinois (a former Republican ) in the 19th century, and Harry F. Byrd Jr. of Virginia (who had been elected to his first term as

378-485: A history of independent state legislators. For example, in the Alaska State House , independents have sometimes played pivotal roles in coalition governments, demonstrating their influence in closely divided chambers. These legislators often prioritize regional or policy-specific issues over strict adherence to party platforms. Judicial and Nonpartisan Offices Many state and local offices, particularly in

441-694: A large impact on elections and have even won, particularly in large cities. For instance, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg served as 2002 to 2013 as a Republican but for his third term he won as an independent. Independent politicians have also led cities like Minneapolis , where Charles Stenvig served as an independent mayor throughout the 1970s. These leaders often emphasize pragmatic governance over party ideology, appealing to diverse voter bases. State Legislatures While less common than in Congress, independents occasionally serve in state legislatures. Maine and Alaska , in particular, have seen

504-528: A monopoly on the nomination of candidates for elected positions according to the Electoral Code. However, becoming an independent politician after being elected is protected by virtue of Article 25 of the Constitution of Costa Rica , which guarantees freedom of association ; therefore, any citizen cannot be forced to remain in a specific political party and can join any other political group. It

567-677: A political party. Independents sometimes choose to form a party, alliance, or technical group with other independents, and may formally register that organization. Even where the word "independent" is used, such alliances can have much in common with a political party, especially if there is an organization which needs to approve the "independent" candidates. Independent politicians are not allowed to run for office in Brazil. The Constitution of 1988, in Article 14, §3rd, item V, says that "Are conditions for eligibility: V - party affiliation". However,

630-405: A single Congress since the ratification of the 17th Amendment . State and Local Independent Politicians Independent politicians have also played notable roles at the state and local levels, often finding success in contexts where party affiliation is less dominant or elections are nonpartisan. Mayors and Municipal Leaders There have been many cases where independent candidates have made

693-459: A third party ( Connecticut for Lieberman Party ) after he lost the primary. After the election, Lieberman enrolled himself as an Independent Democrat until his retirement in 2013. In 2006, Sanders and Lieberman were the only two victorious independent candidates for Congress, both caucusing with the Democrats. In 2012 , Angus King was elected to the U.S. Senate as an Independent from Maine. He

SECTION 10

#1732782551475

756-424: A united bloc opposed to the government of the day. Some well-organised democracies, dominated long-term by a single faction, reduce their parliamentary opposition to tokenism . In some cases, in more authoritarian countries, tame "opposition" parties are created by the governing groups in order to create an impression of democratic debate. Some legislatures offer opposition parties particular powers. In Canada ,

819-604: Is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution. But as nearly as possible, one-third of the members thereof retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year. Members are now elected or nominated for six years and one-third of them retire every second year. The presiding officers of Vidhan Parishad are now known as Chairman and Deputy Chairman. Members of the upper house, the Legislative Council are indirectly elected through an electoral college. There are 27 Committees which are, at present, functional in

882-514: Is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views that do not align with the platforms of any political party and therefore choose not to affiliate with them. Some independent politicians may be associated with a party, perhaps as former members of it or else have views that align with it, but choose not to stand in its name, or are unable to do so because

945-484: Is common in each legislative period for some deputies ( diputados , term used for legislators) of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica to become independents; this has also happened with the mayors ( alcaldes ) of the municipalities of cantons . Jaime Heliodoro Rodríguez Calderón (born in 1957), sometimes referred to by his nickname "Bronco", is a Mexican politician and former governor for

1008-594: Is noted as having proposed amendments on at least 20% of all legislation. Several observers and those involved with the Senate itself have criticized the Trudeau government for its attempted reforms, with most accusations centering around the belief that the new appointment process is biased towards those who are ideologically supportive of the Liberal Party's objectives. Remaining Conservative senators have accused

1071-587: Is sometimes mentioned as an independent governor, though this is not technically correct; he ran as an A Connecticut Party candidate (which gave him better ballot placement than an unaffiliated candidate would receive), defeating the Democratic and Republican nominees. Another former governor who is sometimes mentioned as an independent is Jesse Ventura , who actually ran as a member of the Reform Party 's Minnesota affiliate, which later disaffiliated from

1134-499: The 1996 and 2000 elections, and "Never Trump" conservative candidate Evan McMullin in 2016 . Out of all independent candidates since Washington, Perot performed the best, gaining no votes in the Electoral College but receiving 19 percent of the popular vote and, early in the election season, leading in polls against his opponents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush . Additionally, McMullin received 21 percent of

1197-486: The 2002 elections , when the Republicans regained their majority. Jeffords retired at the end of his term in 2007. Dean Barkley of the Independence Party of Minnesota was appointed a day before the 2002 elections to fill the senate seat of Paul Wellstone who, while running for re-election, died weeks prior. Barkley refused to caucus with either party. In 2006 , independent politician Bernie Sanders won

1260-460: The 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador general election , two independent candidates were elected. Current laws in Costa Rica do not permit a citizen to run directly for any elected position as an independent without the representation of a political party. Any nomination must be made through a political party, due to the framework of the current legal system, in which the political parties have

1323-581: The 2024 general election , seven independent candidates were elected to Lok Sabha , the lower house of Indian Parliament . The only independent Israeli politician elected to the Knesset was Shmuel Flatto-Sharon . Independents have rarely been elected to the Dewan Rakyat and state legislative assemblies. In Malaysian elections, many independent candidates lose their election deposit because they had failed to secure at least 12.5% or one-eighth of

SECTION 20

#1732782551475

1386-547: The Democratic Party and briefly sought election in 1844 as a Tyler Democrat , but withdrew over fear he would split the Democratic vote and give the election to Whig candidate Henry Clay . Since 1900, notable candidates running as independents for U.S. president have included congressman John Anderson in 1980 , billionaire entrepreneur Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996 (in 1996 under the newly founded Reform Party ), former Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in

1449-629: The Democratic-Republican faction, centered around Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . Washington feared that partisanship would eventually destroy the country, and famously warned against "the baneful effects of the spirit of party" in his 1796 Farewell Address . John Tyler was expelled from the Whig Party in September 1841, and effectively remained an independent for the remainder of his presidency. He later returned to

1512-534: The National Assembly , such as Aytən Mustafayeva . Around half of Hong Kong 's Legislative Council is made up of independents, or members whose political groups are represented by one sole member in the legislature. They are common in functional constituencies , and are not rare among geographical constituencies . Independent candidates can contest elections on the basis of their personal appeal or to promote an ideology different from any party. In

1575-599: The Northwest Territories and Nunavut are consensus governments with no political parties. All members sit as independents. There are a few independent members of the other provincial and territorial legislatures, which are similar in principle to the federal House of Commons; for example, in the 2009 British Columbia general election , independent candidate Vicki Huntington narrowly defeated incumbent Attorney General Wally Oppal in Delta South . In

1638-511: The Ontario electoral district , or riding, of Spadina—Fort York . Vuong had originally campaigned as a member of the Liberal Party during the 2021 federal election but was ejected from the party two days prior to the end of the vote due to controversy surrounding past allegations of sexual assault. Despite his removal from the Liberal Party, Vuong won the election for his riding and chose to take his seat as an independent, though this decision

1701-536: The United Kingdom , and New Zealand , 20 days each year are set aside as " Opposition Days " or "Supply Days", during which the opposition gets to set the agenda. Canada also has a Question Period , during which the opposition (and the Parliament generally) can ask questions of government ministers. Independent politician An independent , non-partisan politician , or non-affiliated politician

1764-456: The tendency to gravitate into two major parties or party groupings operates strongly, government and opposition roles can go to the two main groupings serially in alternation. The more proportionally representative a system, the greater the likelihood of multiple political parties appearing in the parliamentary debating chamber . Such systems can foster multiple "opposition" parties which may have little in common and minimal desire to form

1827-565: The unicameral legislature got converted into bicameral one, i.e., the Bihar Legislative Council and the Bihar Legislative Assembly . Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Bihar Legislative Council consisted of 29 members. On March 21, 1938, the session of the Bihar Legislative Council took place in a newly built building. On 1 April 1950, the secretariat of BLC started functioning. After

1890-1021: The Council. Besides, there are three Financial Committees consisting of the members of the two Houses of the State Legislature. Keys:     BJP (7)     JD(U) (8)     RJD (9)     INC (1)     CPI-ML (1)     HAM (1) Keys:     BJP (7)     RJD (6)     JD(U) (5)     INC (1)     RLJP (1)     IND (4) Keys:     JD(U) (3)     BJP (2)     Independent (1)     Vacant1 (1) Keys:     BJP (2)     JD(U) (1)     CPI (1)     INC (1)     Independent (1) Keys:     BJP (6)     JD(U) (6) Parliamentary opposition In first-past-the-post assemblies, where

1953-759: The Independent Senators Group in particular as being "too quick to endorse bills from the Liberal government". Supporting this claim, a 2021 study found that members of the Independent Senators Group voted in favor of legislation proposed by the incumbent Liberal government more consistently than any other group within the Senate, including those still formally aligned to the Liberal Party. This was, however, among an overall trend in which all senators demonstrated lower levels of party loyalty, and as such its full implications are still unknown. The report also concluded that partisanship in Senate appointments

Bihar Legislative Council - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-794: The People" parties in several states for the same purpose, even though he is Independent. Several other candidates for federal races, including Joe Lieberman (who created Connecticut for Lieberman ), have pursued a similar strategy. Illinois , Maine , Oregon , Rhode Island , Texas , Alaska , and North Dakota have elected formally independent candidates as governor: Illinois's first two governors, Shadrach Bond and Edward Coles ; James B. Longley in 1974 as well as Angus King in 1994 and 1998 from Maine; Lincoln Chafee in 2010 from Rhode Island; Julius Meier in 1930 from Oregon; Sam Houston in 1859 from Texas; and Bill Walker in 2014 from Alaska. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. of Connecticut

2079-559: The Proposal Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) no. 6/2015, authored by independent senator José Reguffe , would allow the independent candidacy of individuals who have the support of at least 1% of the electors able to vote in the region (city, state or country, depending on the election) in which the candidate is running. Currently, members of the legislature can leave their respective parties after being elected, as in

2142-536: The Republicans and Democrats (with a Republican Vice President, Dick Cheney , who would presumably break all ties in favor of the Republicans), to 49 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and one Independent. Jeffords agreed to vote for Democratic control of the Senate in exchange for being appointed chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee , and the Democrats held control of the Senate until

2205-482: The Republicans lost their majority in Congress in 1930. Norris won re-election as an independent in 1936, but later lost his final re-election attempt to Republican Kenneth S. Wherry in 1942. Vermont senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent in 2001. Jeffords's change of party status was especially significant because it shifted the Senate composition from 50 to 50 between

2268-603: The Senate and pledged to end the practice of partisan appointments for senators and transition to a new system of merit-based appointments if elected Prime Minister. Following the election of a Liberal majority government in 2015, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments was established with the goal of filling Senate vacancies through a selection process based on political knowledge, merit, and perceived ability to act independently of partisan affiliation. This push to remove partisan ties from

2331-515: The Senate resulted in the creation of the Independent Senators Group , a coalition of both newly appointed independent senators and formally partisan senators who had relinquished their formal party ties, alongside the also independent Canadian Senators Group and Progressive Senate Group . By 2018, the majority of Canadian Senators were officially independent, though some Liberal senators continued to remain affiliated with

2394-529: The Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Jim Jeffords as an independent, subsequently reelected in 2012 , 2018 and 2024 . He was an independent member of the United States House of Representatives for Vermont-at-large from 1991 to 2007. Sanders is the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. Also in 2006 , Joe Lieberman was a former Democrat and ran under

2457-495: The State of Hawaii after previously campaigning in the state's Democratic primary. As a result, Democratic candidate David Ige was elected as governor with a plurality of 49%. Also in 2014, former mayor of Valdez , Bill Walker won the gubernatorial election. Walker retired before the 2018 election but ran again in the 2022 . He didn't win but received 20% of the vote. The United States House of Representatives has also seen

2520-563: The appointment of senators through the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, there has been a noted increase in the number of amendments the Senate has proposed for legislation from the House of Commons. During the 42nd Parliament (2015–2019), the Senate attempted to amend 13 government bills, whereas during the 41st Parliament (2011–2015), it had attempted to amend only one government bill. The reformed Senate

2583-598: The case of senator Reguffe, who left the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) in 2016. Jair Bolsonaro was independent between 2019 and 2021. In Canadian federal politics, members of both the House of Commons and the Senate are permitted to hold office without being members of a political party. Candidates in federal elections who are not affiliated with a party have two options: independent or no affiliation. In

Bihar Legislative Council - Misplaced Pages Continue

2646-484: The causes and motivations for MPs to act independently. Many observers of the Canadian House of Commons in the 21st century have noted its incredibly high party discipline. Few MPs choose to vote against their party's official stance on any given piece of legislation. Between 2011 and 2013—the first two years of the 41st Canadian Parliament , following the 2011 Canadian federal election —the elected members of

2709-624: The first General Elections 1952, the number of members was increased up to 72 and by 1958 the number was raised to 96. 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. Some veteran council members B. P. Mandal, Jagannath Mishra, Satyendra Narain Singh and Lalu Prasad Yadav have also served as Chief Minister of Bihar. Bihar Legislative Council

2772-501: The former case, they appear on the ballot with "Independent" following their name; in the second case, they appear with their name only. The two options are otherwise equivalent. During the earliest Canadian Parliaments, a lack of coherent political identity among both the Liberal and Conservative parties is known to have led to Members of Parliament (MPs) occasionally demonstrating independence from their party by voting in line with

2835-572: The governing Conservative Party voted as a unified group on 76% of all votes, while members of the Liberal Party did so on 90% of all votes, and members of the New Democratic Party (NDP) did so on 100% of votes. This unity further increased in subsequent years, as in the 42nd Parliament , following the 2015 election , the governing Liberal MPs voted identically on 99.6% of all votes, Conservative MPs on 99.5% of votes, and NDP MPs on 99.8% of votes. (Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP were

2898-456: The judiciary, are officially nonpartisan, providing opportunities for independents to succeed. For example, state superintendents of schools or city council members are normally politicians who identify as independent or with no party at all. This system allows voters to focus on the candidate's qualifications rather than party affiliation since this should not be stressed for these positions. In Azerbaijan , there are many independent members of

2961-537: The northern state of Nuevo León and holds no political party affiliation. As of June 7, 2015 , he was elected Governor of Nuevo León, making history as the first independent candidate to win in the country. George Washington is the only U.S. president elected as an independent to date. Washington opposed the development of political parties , which had begun to solidify as the Federalist faction, centered around John Adams and Alexander Hamilton , and

3024-452: The only three parties with enough MPs to qualify for official party status in the 41st and 42nd parliaments.) Thanks to this strong party discipline, it is uncommon to see politicians who are otherwise affiliated with any of the main political parties act independently of their party. Though it is acceptable and accepted for politicians to serve as independent MPs, those who attempt to run as such often struggle to be elected without access to

3087-596: The only two parties to ever form government in Canada, only the Liberal and Conservative parties had been able to appoint new senators. Because Canadian senators are appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister rather than being elected, senators were often accused of being appointed as a "reward" for service to the party in power, and once appointed, of simply repeating

3150-436: The opposition. Commonly, the issues which caused these MPs to act independently were religious in nature. These tensions began to disperse over the course of the first ten Canadian parliaments as the major political parties began to form consistent identities and MPs began affiliating themselves with the parties they knew more closely shared their core values. This in turn increased cohesion between parties and MPs, and minimized

3213-720: The party and reverted to its original name, the Independence Party of Minnesota .North Dakota elected William Langer Governor in 1933 as a member of the Republican/Nonpartisan League. He was later elected Governor in 1937 as an Independent. In 1971 , State Senator Henry Howell of Virginia , a former Democrat, was elected lieutenant governor as an independent. Two years later , he campaigned for governor as an independent, but lost by 15,000 votes. There were several unsuccessful independent gubernatorial candidates in 2006 who impacted their electoral races. In Maine , state legislator Barbara Merrill (formerly

SECTION 50

#1732782551475

3276-441: The party in question has selected another candidate. Others may belong to or support a political party at the national level but believe they should not formally represent it (and thus be subject to its policies) at another level. In some cases, a politician may be a member of an unregistered party and therefore officially recognised as an independent. Office-holders may become independents after losing or repudiating affiliation with

3339-463: The points and positions of their counterparts in the House of Commons rather than acting as a means of truly independent policy review. In 2014, as a response to growing public disapproval of the Senate and the perceived problems brought about by senator partisanship, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau made the decision to expel all Liberal senators from the Liberal Party caucus. Trudeau would go on to call for an overall elimination of partisanship in

3402-560: The political party despite no longer being permitted within the party caucus. Additionally, the Conservative Party elected not to remove its senators from the party caucus, and many Conservative Party senators kept their official partisan affiliations in public. During the 2019 federal election campaign, in response to reporters' questions, Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer said that if his party were elected to form government and he became prime minister, he would reinstate

3465-667: The popular vote in his home state of Utah but received little support from the remainder of the country. Independent senator Bernie Sanders ran in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries , but ultimately did not appear on the ballot in either the 2016 nor 2020 presidential elections, though he did receive more than 5% of the popular vote as a write-in candidate in his home state of Vermont . In 2008 , Nader formed Independent Parties in New Mexico , Delaware , and elsewhere to gain ballot access in several states. In 2024 , Robert F. Kennedy Jr. created "We

3528-465: The practice of partisan appointments to the Senate. The efforts to increase senatorial independence have led some to argue the Senate has developed an increase of importance and power in the legislative process. As of 2021, it was found that Canadian senators were facing increasing pressure from lobbying groups on a variety of issues, suggesting the more independent Senate has a greater perceived influence over legislative issues. Additionally, following

3591-458: The resources of the major parties. As a result, there are seldom more than one or two independent MPs within modern Canadian Parliaments, with many who do sit as such being initially elected as a part of a major party before either leaving voluntarily or being removed. In the first year of the 44th Canadian Parliament , the House of Commons featured one sitting independent member: Kevin Vuong , from

3654-481: The seven that have been formed since the 2004 federal election ) with independent MPs sometimes sharing in the balance of power . While traditionally framed as an "independent body of sober second thought", appointments to the Senate of Canada prior to 2016 were commonly seen as highly partisan, with the majority of Canadian senators identifying themselves as members of either the Liberal or Conservative parties and serving within their party's caucus. As these have been

3717-607: The total votes cast. Independent Senators are quite rare. In 2010, a group of independent MPs who were sacked from the People's Justice Party formed a political block called Konsensus Bebas . The members were Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru), Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju), Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Bandar Bharu), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai). It did not last beyond

3780-411: Was formed in 1912. The first sitting of the Council was convened on 20 January 1913 at Patna College Bankipore . In 1920 Bihar and Orissa declared governor province, as per Government of India Act 1919 . As per Government of India Act 1935 Bihar and Orissa was split into separate provinces of Bihar and Orissa. In 1936, [Bihar] attained its separate Statehood. Under the Government of India Act, 1919,

3843-737: Was met with controversy because many voters had not known that the Liberals had expelled him before casting their votes. In 2022, Alain Rayes , MP for the Quebec riding of Richmond—Arthabaska , resigned from the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent, becoming the second independent MP of the 44th Parliament. Independent politicians have on occasion held considerable sway in the House of Commons of Canada in recent years, as Canada has been governed by successive minority governments (five of

SECTION 60

#1732782551475

3906-422: Was reelected in 2018 and is running again in 2024 . During the presidency of Joe Biden , former members of Democratic Party Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin joined Sanders and King and became Independent Democrats . They are viewed as moderate Democrats and cited increasing partisanship to explain their decisions. After they changed their affiliations, the Senate had the highest number of independents in

3969-424: Was undeniably down when compared to the Senate prior to the reforms. It is generally thought that it will only be possible to judge the success of the attempted reforms accurately when a non-Liberal government is elected to the House of Commons, at which point it can be observed if the noted trend in voting represents simple loyalty to the government, or loyalty to the Liberal Party. The territorial legislatures of

#474525