Bihar Rajya Sabha Elections: High-Stakes Final Push by NDA and Grand Alliance
In a dramatic final day of campaigning, both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Grand Alliance made an intense, last-minute push on Sunday to secure victory for their candidates in the crucial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for Monday. With six candidates contesting for five seats from Bihar, voting has become necessary, making this one of the most closely watched Upper House contests in the state in recent years.
Electoral Arithmetic and Strategic Maneuvers
The electoral arithmetic has rendered the contest particularly significant and fiercely competitive. The NDA is ambitiously aiming to win all five seats but requires support from three opposition-side legislators to achieve that goal. Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Grand Alliance is striving to ensure the victory of its lone candidate, sitting Rajya Sabha member Amarendra Dhari Singh. For this, the alliance needs the backing of five All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLAs and one Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator to reach the winning mark.
Polling is set to begin at 9 am on Monday, and throughout Sunday, leaders from both camps held a series of strategic meetings to consolidate support and prevent any last-minute surprises. The Grand Alliance took the precautionary measure of keeping its legislators at a hotel in Patna to forestall possible poaching by rivals. In contrast, the NDA organized meetings for its legislators at the residences of ministers and senior leaders across the capital city.
NDA's Coordinated Strategy and Training Sessions
NDA lawmakers convened at the residence of Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary to finalize their voting strategy. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is himself among the candidates, attended this critical meeting. Earlier, NDA legislators had also gathered at the residence of Janata Dal (United) national working president Sanjay Jha. JD(U) MLAs held an additional meeting at Minister Leshi Singh's residence, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) convened its senior leaders at the State Guest House.
Sources revealed that the NDA camp includes approximately 100 first-time legislators who have never participated in a Rajya Sabha election. To mitigate procedural errors and the risk of invalid votes, the alliance organized a comprehensive mock voting session on Sunday to train these MLAs, ensuring they are well-prepared for the actual polling process.
Historical Context and Candidate Lineup
Bihar has not witnessed actual voting in a Rajya Sabha contest for an entire decade. The last such instance occurred during the 2014 Rajya Sabha by-elections, when JD(U) candidates Pavan Kumar Varma and Gulam Rasool Balyawi defeated BJP-backed independents despite cross-voting by party MLAs. Since that time, every Rajya Sabha election from the state has been decided unopposed, highlighting the rarity and significance of Monday's vote.
Of the six candidates in the fray this time, five belong to the NDA and one to the RJD. Besides Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP president Nitin Nabin, the NDA has fielded Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar. The opposition's sole candidate is Amarendra Dhari Singh.
Confident Claims and Political Accusations
JD(U) senior leader and minister Shravan Kumar confidently asserted that the NDA would secure all five seats. However, RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan countered, stating that the victory of Amarendra Dhari Singh was certain and that all 41 opposition legislators were united behind him.
JD(U) state spokesperson Manish Yadav launched a sharp criticism of the RJD's decision to confine its MLAs in a hotel, remarking, The party whose leaders never tire of invoking democracy, constitution, and people's mandate day and night, is today keeping its own MLAs locked up in a hotel under guard. The RJD has once again proved that they fear their defeat more than they trust the loyalty of their MLAs.
Background of the Vacancies
The five vacancies have arisen due to the retirement on April 9 of Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh of the RJD, Ram Nath Thakur and deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh of the JD(U), and Upendra Kushwaha of the RLM. This sets the stage for a pivotal electoral battle that could influence the political dynamics in Bihar and beyond.
