NDA sweeps all 5 Bihar Rajya Sabha seats: Nitish Kumar, Nitin Nabin among winners

The NDA had fielded Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Nabin, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha, and BJP candidate Shivesh Ram.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept all five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, with every candidate victorious, a major blow to the opposition Mahagathbandhan.

The NDA had fielded Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Nabin, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha, and BJP candidate Shivesh Ram.

All five NDA candidates secured their Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar. NDA's 202 MLAs voted in the assembly, while Mahagathbandhan's 37 participated.

On behalf of the Opposition, Indian National Congress MLAs Manoj Biswas, Surendra Kushwaha, and Manohar Prasad Singh, along with Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Faisal Rahman, were absent during the voting.

Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram alleged the BJP abducted three missing Congress MLAs, who had stayed in touch since March 13 despite the NDA rule. He claimed they face house arrest, as vote counting began at 5 p.m.

On the basis of first preference, Nitish Kumar, Nitin Nabin, Ram Nath Thakur, and Upendra Kushwaha secured victory, while Shivesh Ram secured his victory in the second preference of votes.

Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan’s candidate A. D. Singh received 38 votes.

In the second preference round, Shivesh Ram secured additional votes, ensuring victory for all NDA candidates.

The Bihar Legislative Assembly has 243 seats, and the election was conducted to fill five Rajya Sabha seats.

Although six candidates were in the fray, the NDA’s strong numerical strength in the Assembly played a decisive role in the outcome.

NDA holds 202 MLAs against Mahagathbandhan's 35, securing a clear edge in Bihar's Rajya Sabha polls.

Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary congratulated Nitin Nabin, praising his leadership and public service as party energisers, confident that his Rajya Sabha stint will boost Bihar's development agenda.

Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha slammed RJD-Congress, saying their MLAs' vote refusal exposed their "true conduct", after voters already rejected them.

(with IANS inputs)