BJP wins in 5 Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar and 2 in Odisha

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday won all five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar in the biennial elections, while also securing two seats in Odisha following cross-voting.

In Bihar, the ruling NDA’s candidates included Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Voting concluded later in the evening, PTI sources in the alliance claimed that “all 202 MLAs” belonging to the NDA had taken part in the polling.

According to the results, Nitish Kumar received votes from 44 MLAs, while Nitin Nabin also secured the support of 44 legislators. Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha received 42 votes from MLAs, and Ramnath Thakur also secured the backing of 42 legislators.

In another closely watched contest, BJP candidate Shivesh Kumar defeated RJD candidate AD Singh on the basis of second-preference votes. Shivesh Kumar secured a total vote value of 4,202, while AD Singh received a total vote value of 3,700.

AD Singh had secured 37 first-preference votes, while Shivesh Kumar received 30 first-preference votes. However, Shivesh Kumar’s total vote value increased after the counting of second-preference votes, whereas A.D. Singh did not receive any second-preference vote.

The alliance in the state includes Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union minister Chirag Paswan, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha of Upendra Kushwaha, who is also one of the five candidates in the Rajya Sabha contest.

The opposition Mahagathbandhan, however, appeared to falter during the voting process, with three MLAs of the Congress and one of the RJD remaining absent from the polling.