Voting for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar witnessed high political drama on Monday after several MLAs from the opposition alliance were reported missing or out of contact during polling. The unexpected development has raised concerns within the Mahagathbandhan alliance and could potentially benefit the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Polling began at 9 am at the Bihar Assembly complex and will continue until 4 pm, after which counting of votes will begin.
Opposition MLAs Reportedly Missing
Three Congress legislators were reportedly unreachable on the day of voting. The MLAs — Surendra Prasad Kushwaha from Valmikinagar, Manoj Biswas from Forbesganj and Manohar Prasad Singh from Manihari — were said to be out of contact, with their mobile phones switched off.
Meanwhile, among the 25 MLAs of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, 24 had already cast their votes. However, party MLA Faisal Ali from Dhaka had not reached the Assembly at the time of voting.
The absence of these legislators created uncertainty within the opposition ranks during the crucial election.
NDA Claims Advantage
Amid the confusion, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that the ruling alliance was heading toward victory.
“I extend my advance congratulations to all my candidates. This is turning out to be a victory for the NDA alliance. There are no Congress MLAs present here. What can one say about a party in this condition?” he said while speaking to the media.
Tejashwi Yadav Urges Patience
Responding to questions about the missing MLAs, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav urged patience and asked observers to wait for the final outcome.
“I feel we should wait. Don’t you agree?” he said briefly when asked about the situation.
Candidates in the Rajya Sabha Race
Several prominent leaders are contesting the Rajya Sabha election from Bihar. The NDA has fielded Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP leader Nitin Nabin, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha and BJP candidate Shivesh Kumar.
The opposition has nominated Amarendra Dhari Singh of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, who is seeking re-election to the Upper House.
Numbers Game in the Assembly
In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the NDA currently has around 202 MLAs, which puts it close to securing all five seats. However, it still needs support from at least three opposition MLAs to comfortably win the fifth seat.
A candidate requires the backing of at least 41 MLAs to secure a Rajya Sabha seat.
The RJD-led Grand Alliance has been hoping to secure one seat with support from Akhtarul Iman’s AIMIM, which has five MLAs and has publicly backed the opposition candidate.
To prevent possible cross-voting, the opposition alliance had earlier kept its MLAs at a hotel in Patna before the polling day.
With voting underway and several MLAs missing, the Bihar Rajya Sabha election has turned into a tense political contest that could significantly shift the balance in favour of the NDA.
