Bihar Rajya Sabha election: NDA fights ‘strategically’ to win, no-show by 4 from opposition camp

AS expected, the subject popular confederation (NDA) won all the quintet seats in the Rajya Sabha election in Bihar held on mon with a sound strategy for the fifth seat, while the Opposition could not ensure voting by all its 41 legislators after four of them abstained.The five NDA winners are Bihar chief minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who has announced to step down for his debut in the Rajya Sabha, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur, BJP leader Shivesh Kumar and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha.No-show by 4 from Opposition campWhile the NDA ensured that all its 202 members voted much before the end of scheduled voting, four from the Opposition camp, including three from the Congress and one from the RJD, did not turn up to reduce its count to 37 and make NDA job easier in the second preference vote count.In the second preference, Shivesh Kumar got 4,002 votes in the third round itself against the required 3099 votes to record victory. The Opposition candidate was out of race in the second preference count.Second preference votes are counted when one or more candidates are unable to get the required first preference votes. In this case, neither NDA nor the Opposition candidate could get the required 41. Tejashwi said that NDA candidate got only 30 first preference votes against 37 to RJD candidate. However, still both fell short of the magic figure, as some additional NDA votes went to senior leaders for safety.JD(U) minister Lakhendra Paswan said that while Nitish Kumar and Nitin Nabin got 44 votes each, Ram Nath Thakur and Upendra Kushwaha got 42 each, while the highest number of second preference votes went to Shivesh Kumar. "This is the laid down process," he added.JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said that the NDA fought strategically, while the Leader of Opposition could not even hold on to its flock. "We knew that below the required threshold, second preference votes would come into play and we had overwhelming number in that, and exactly that happened. Rajya Sabha election needs numbers as well as understanding of the situation also, which the Opposition lacks," he added.Though the RJD-led Opposition managed to get the votes of five AIMIM legislators and one BSP MLA, the apprehensions about the Congress proved true. Congress MLAs Manohar Prasad Singh (Manihari), Surendra Prasad (Valmikinagar) and Manoj Biswas (Forbesganj) did not arrive to vote. All three have had a history of party hopping.There has been growing apprehension about split in the Congress ever since the landslide victory of the NDA in 2025 and perhaps, the legislators were waiting for an opportune moment, which came during the Rajya Sabha election.Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram accused the BJP of poaching. "We had talks with all three of them till March 13 night and suddenly we lost all communication with them. We will take action against them after consulting senior leaders. They may have been put under house arrest," he added.The biggest embarrassment for the RJD, which fielded a candidate to force a contest, was that its legislator Faisal Rahman (Dhaka) also stayed away despite repeated calls made to him by the party leaders. Rahman, known to be close to Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, was said to be in Delhi. He had won 2025 Assembly election by just 178 votes and the losing BJP candidate had challenged it in the court.RJD spokesman Shakti Singh Yadav said that the Opposition had the support of 41 legislators, but the NDA had just 38. "Now, horse trading, intimidation, power misuse and money play can do what has happened. Had Nitish Kumar been conscious, he would not have forced election for the fifth seat, but with the kind of people who hold the reins now, such things are not a surprise. It has happened in Odisha also. What kind of political decorum or democratic norm is this?" he asked.However, JD(U) minister Ashok Choudhary hit back. "The RJD forced election because Nitish Kumar contested this time. Now onwards, the RJD will not be in a position to win even a single MLC seat. They do politics in the name of social justice and give ticket to a capitalist who has never stayed in Bihar. Naturally, the legislators were not happy and stayed away," he said.With an overwhelming majority of 202 seats in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly, NDA had four seats in its kitty even before the polling, but for the fifth it was three votes short of the magical figure of 41, and instead of trying to get those numbers, it worked strategically to take the election for the fifth seat to the second preference vote.The Opposition camp had just 35 votes against NDA's 38, but it still fielded sitting Rajya Sabha member AD Singh to force a contest, banking on the support from AIMIM's five MLAs and sole BSP MLA to reach the required figure of 41, but it still proved inadequate.The abstention of the three Congress legislators did not come as a surprise as the party had failed to announce its legislature party leader in the past four months even as the crucial Budget session concluded. "The Congress high command should take note, as this was waiting to happen. The party may disappear from Bihar if steps are not taken to stem the rot," said senior Congress leader Kishor Kumar Jha. BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi and Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha said that the Opposition should look within why it could not win trust of its own MLAs. "The NDA was always on course for a clean sweep and that has happened," they added.Hindustani Awami Morcha (HAM)-Secular patron and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose daughter-in-law and her mother (both MLAs) had created a flutter by meeting Tejashwi in the latter's chamber and later terming it inadvertent, also had a dig. "When tickets will be sold for money, the legislators will not pick up phone," he posted on X, hailing NDA victory.RLM lawmaker Madhav Anand said that it was a pleasant surprise that Bihar was sending three national chiefs of three different parties in the NDA to the Rajya Sabha. "The NDA did not try to split anyone. If anyone abstained, it was an issue for the Opposition to deal with. I had said that all five should be unanimously sent to the Rajya Sabha, but RJD forced election without having the numbers," he added.LJP chief Chirag Paswan said that the split was in the Opposition ranks and they could not blame anyone for that. "They should find out why their MLAs did not turn up," he added.JD(U) president pollJanata Dal-United has also notified the election of its party president and nominations can be filed till March 22. If more than one candidate files nomination, the election will be held on March 27. Sources said that an election was unlikely, as Nitish Kumar would continue on the apex party post as he is the unanimous choice."As a member of the Rajya Sabha, he will be spending time in Delhi also and can take the party forward with his national perspective and vast experience," said a senior party leader.