Rajya Sabha elections: LJP's Raju Tiwari predicts NDA sweep in Bihar

LJP's Raju Tiwari expressed confidence that the NDA will win all five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar. Voting is underway for 11 seats across three states, with 26 candidates already elected unopposed. Bihar, Haryana, and Odisha are key battlegrounds.

NDA Confident of Sweep in Bihar

The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Bihar President Raju Tiwari on Thursday expressed confidence over the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, saying that all five seats will be won by NDA candidates.

Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, "The time for making claims is over. Voting will show the results itself. All five seats will be won by our NDA candidates. We will win all five seats in a good manner." He emphasised the strength and unity of the NDA alliance in the state, expressing optimism about securing a clean sweep in the elections.

Election Landscape Across 10 States

The biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha to fill 37 seats across 10 states are currently on, with counting of votes set for 5 pm. The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.

Out of these, 26 candidates have already secured victory unopposed. Voting will now take place for the remaining 11 seats, including five from Bihar, four from Odisha, and two from Haryana.

In key battlegrounds in Bihar, Haryana, and Odisha, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is working to defeat Opposition gains. So far, 26 candidates have been elected unopposed, with the BJP securing seven, Congress five, the Trinamool Congress four, the DMK three, and Shiv Sena, RPI(A), NCP, NCP(SP), AIADMK, PMK, and UPPL one each. Notable names among the winners include Sharad Pawar, Abhishek Singhvi, Tiruchi Siva, and Vinod Tawade.

Key Candidates and Cross-Voting Fears

As preparations are underway for the biennial elections, all attention has turned to Haryana, Bihar and Odisha, which have emerged as key arenas of contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition bloc for four important seats. The most interesting part of these Rajya Sabha polls is the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar, Bihar's longest-tenured Chief Minister for over two decades, announced that he would be heading to the Rajya Sabha and filed his nomination in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among other leaders. Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including Upendra Kushwaha and BJP chief Nitin Nabin, also filed their nominations for the Upper House.

Amid apprehensions of possible cross-voting and allegations of horse-trading, several political parties, particularly the Congress, have moved their legislators to resorts and locations outside their home states in a bid to ensure unity within their ranks ahead of the polling.

Among those elected without contest are Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, Republican Party of India (Athawale) president Ramdas Athawale, and senior AIADMK leader M Thambidurai. The counting of votes will be conducted on the same day as polling at 5 pm.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)