Patna, March 16 (IANS) Voting for five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar was underway at the Assembly on Monday with leaders from both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) arriving to cast their votes.
The polling process began at 9 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m., while counting of votes will start at 5 p.m., and the final results are expected to be declared shortly afterwards.
Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav cast his vote and launched a sharp attack on Nitish Kumar and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He alleged that since Nitish Kumar left the INDIA bloc in 2024 and joined the NDA, the BJP has been plotting politically against him.
"The BJP used a trick on Nitish Kumar to remove him from the Chief Minister’s post. It will be similar to what happened with Eknath Shinde after the Maharashtra elections. In the coming days, the BJP will destroy the Janata Dal-United, " he said.
On the other hand, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary arrived at the Assembly flashing a victory sign, reflecting confidence within the ruling alliance.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha said that the representatives elected to the Rajya Sabha would raise Bihar’s voice strongly at the national level and work for the state's development.
Meanwhile, senior JD-U leader Vijay Chaudhary also expressed confidence that all five NDA candidates would win comfortably.
Senior leaders and MLAs of the NDA were among the first to cast their votes.
RJD MLA Anita Devi also exercised her franchise.
Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar arrived at the House to supervise the voting process.
The election has drawn intense political attention because six candidates are contesting for five seats.
To secure victory, a candidate must obtain 41 first-preference votes.
If a candidate fails to reach this threshold, second-preference votes will be counted to determine the winner.
This has increased the importance of every vote and heightened speculation about political manoeuvring.
The NDA has fielded five candidates - Nitish Kumar and Ram Nath Thakur (JD-U), Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar (BJP), and Upendra Kushwaha (RLM).
The opposition Mahagathbandhan has fielded Amarendra Dhari Singh as its candidate.
Amid the political contest, reports that two Congress MLAs were initially out of contact created tension in the opposition camp.
However, RJD leader Chandrashekhar Singh dismissed the concerns, stating that the Grand Alliance is contesting the election with full strength and confidence.
With both the ruling alliance and the opposition claiming victory, the political atmosphere in Bihar remains highly charged.