Daijiworld Media Network - Patna
Patna, Mar 16: The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a clean sweep in the elections for five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, with all its nominees emerging victorious.
The alliance had fielded Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), Nitin Nabin of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, Upendra Kushwaha, and BJP candidate Shivesh Ram. All five candidates won the seats.
During voting in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, around 202 MLAs from the NDA cast their votes, while 37 MLAs from the opposition Mahagathbandhan participated.
Several opposition legislators were absent during the voting process, including Congress MLAs Manoj Biswas, Surendra Kushwaha and Manohar Prasad Singh, along with RJD MLA Faisal Rahman.
Rajesh Ram, the state chief of the Indian National Congress, alleged that the BJP had “abducted” the missing legislators. He claimed the MLAs had been in contact until March 13 but later became unreachable and may have been placed under house arrest.
Vote counting began at 5 pm, and based on first-preference votes, Nitish Kumar, Nitin Nabin, Ram Nath Thakur and Upendra Kushwaha secured victory. Shivesh Ram clinched the final seat in the second-preference round. The opposition’s candidate A. D. Singh received 38 votes but fell short.
The election was held to fill five Rajya Sabha seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. Despite six candidates contesting, the NDA’s numerical strength — with support from around 202 MLAs compared to the Mahagathbandhan’s 35 — ensured a decisive outcome.
Reacting to the result, Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary congratulated Nitin Nabin, praising his organisational abilities and leadership. He expressed confidence that Nabin would contribute significantly to advancing Bihar’s development issues in the Rajya Sabha.
Another deputy chief minister, Vijay Kumar Sinha, criticised the opposition parties, saying their internal divisions were exposed during the election. He remarked that even their own MLAs refrained from voting for them, adding that the public had already distanced itself from the parties earlier.