BJP MLA Mishri Lal Yadav Loses Assembly Membership Following Court Conviction

Patna: The membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Mishri Lal Yadav has been terminated following his conviction in a criminal case. The Bihar Assembly Secretariat issued a notification confirming that Yadav, the MLA from Alinagar in Darbhanga, ceased to be a member of the House with effect from May 27, 2025.

Yadav’s disqualification comes after the MP/MLA Special Court in Darbhanga sentenced him to two years in prison, invoking Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Article 191(3) of the Constitution. The ruling, delivered by ADJ-3 Suman Kumar Diwakar, automatically triggered the end of his legislative tenure, in accordance with prevailing legal provisions that disqualify any elected representative sentenced to two years or more.

Yadav is the third legislator in Bihar’s 2020–2025 assembly term to lose his seat due to a court conviction. Prior to this, the memberships of Anant Singh and CPI(ML)’s Manoj Manzil were also revoked. In both cases, by-elections were conducted, with Singh’s wife Neelam Devi winning from Mokama.

However, with the next assembly elections drawing closer, the likelihood of a by-election in Alinagar appears slim.

Mishri Lal Yadav, 68, was initially elected on a Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) ticket before switching allegiance to the BJP. He had previously served as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council from 2003 to 2009.

The criminal case dates back to January 30, 2019, when one Umesh Mishra from Samaila village lodged an FIR alleging that Yadav and his associate Suresh Yadav had surrounded him, attacked him with an axe, and robbed him. While the trial court had initially sentenced the two to three months in prison, a subsequent appeal led to an enhanced sentence of two years.