Patna/Bhubaneswar, March 18: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) registered a decisive victory in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections, winning all five seats in Bihar and securing two seats in Odisha, dealing a significant blow to the opposition.
In Bihar, the ruling alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar achieved a clean sweep, aided in part by the absence of four Opposition MLAs—three from Congress and one from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)—who skipped voting.
According to alliance sources, “all 202 MLAs” of the NDA participated in the polling, ensuring a comfortable victory for its candidates.
Nitish Kumar and Nitin Nabin secured 44 votes each, while Upendra Kushwaha and Ramnath Thakur received 42 votes each.
In a closely contested seat, Shivesh Kumar defeated A.D. Singh through second-preference votes. While Singh had initially led with 37 first-preference votes compared to Kumar’s 30, the latter’s total vote value rose to 4,202 after redistribution, surpassing Singh’s 3,700.
“The NDA secured a clean sweep in the Bihar Rajya Sabha elections,” a party leader said, adding that the opposition “failed to reach the required vote count.”
The Mahagathbandhan’s setback was attributed to internal lapses, with four MLAs abstaining from voting, weakening its electoral strength.
In Odisha, the NDA also won two seats, benefiting from cross-voting by Opposition legislators.
Political analysts said the results underline the NDA’s strong legislative hold in Bihar and reflect growing cracks within the opposition ranks. The outcome is being seen as a major morale booster for the ruling alliance ahead of upcoming electoral battles.
“The results underline the NDA’s strong grip on Bihar’s legislative strength,” a senior leader remarked.
The elections are likely to have broader political implications, reshaping alliance dynamics and intensifying competition in the run-up to future polls.
