New Delhi: The ruling National Democratic Alliance secured a decisive outcome in the latest Rajya Sabha elections across several states, winning the majority of contested seats and strengthening its numbers in the Upper House of Parliament. Results declared on Monday showed the NDA capturing eight of the 11 seats where voting took place in Bihar, Odisha and Haryana, while the Biju Janata Dal secured one seat. Counting in Haryana was halted following complaints about violations of ballot secrecy.
The elections were held for 11 seats out of a total of 37 Rajya Sabha vacancies, as 26 candidates had already been elected unopposed earlier this month after withdrawals left them without challengers. Among those chosen without contest on March 9 were Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Union minister Ramdas Athawale.
In Bihar, the NDA swept all five seats in a contest that saw 14 candidates across states competing for the available positions. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) and newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Nabin were elected from the state. Union minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha were also re-elected, while BJP nominee Shivesh Kumar secured a Rajya Sabha berth for the first time.
Alliance leaders claimed strong participation from their legislators during the vote. Sources within the NDA said all 202 MLAs belonging to the alliance participated in the polling. The bloc includes the JD(U), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union minister Chirag Paswan, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi and Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha. The Opposition Mahagathbandhan struggled to mount an effective challenge. Three Congress MLAs and one Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator were absent during voting. Under the formula used for the Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar, each candidate would have needed at least 41 votes to secure victory if all 243 members of the Assembly had cast their ballots.
RJD candidate Amarendra Dhari Singh lost despite claims by opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav that he had support from five legislators of the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen and one from the Bahujan Samaj Party. The AIMIM, which has five MLAs in the Assembly, and the BSP legislator said they voted in favour of Singh.
In Odisha, voting took place for four Rajya Sabha seats with five candidates in the race. The BJP won three seats while the opposition BJD secured one. The outcome was influenced by cross voting during the ballot. Reports indicated that at least five MLAs, including three from the Congress and two from the BJD, supported the BJP-backed independent candidate Dilip Ray.
Those elected from Odisha include BJP state president Manmohan Samal and sitting Rajya Sabha member Sujeet Kumar, along with BJD nominee Santrupt Misra and independent candidate Dilip Ray. The fifth candidate, eminent urologist Dr Datteswar Hota, had the backing of the Congress and the CPI M but did not secure enough support.
Odisha Assembly secretary and Returning Officer Satyabrata Rout later handed over certificates to the newly elected members. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulated the winners, writing in a post on X that he extended “heartfelt congratulations and best wishes” to Samal, Sujeet Kumar and Ray.In Haryana, voting was conducted for two Rajya Sabha seats, but counting of ballots was suspended after both the BJP and the Congress filed complaints alleging breaches of vote secrecy. Voting concluded at 4 pm and counting was scheduled to begin an hour later.
The contest in Haryana has drawn attention because of earlier instances of cross-voting in the state. BJP candidate Sanjay Bhatia, Congress nominee Karamvir Singh Boudh and independent candidate Satish Nandal are among those in the fray.
Congress MLAs who had been moved to Himachal Pradesh before polling returned to cast their votes. Commenting on the move, Haryana minister Anil Vij said the Congress leadership had relocated its legislators because it did not trust them. Vij himself arrived at the polling station in a wheelchair after fracturing both his legs in a recent fall.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Election Commission alleging attempts to interfere with the election process and asked for a meeting with the poll body. In the letter, he said there was “a clear attempt to interfere with the integrity of the election” and urged the commission to address the issue immediately. The letter also stated that no disqualification of legitimate voters or votes cast should be allowed.
Meanwhile, several other candidates across states had already secured seats unopposed. In Maharashtra, all seven candidates were elected without contest, including six from the ruling Mahayuti alliance and opposition nominee Sharad Pawar.
In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress saw four of its candidates elected unopposed. They include Babul Supriyo, former state police chief Rajeev Kumar, Supreme Court advocate Menaka Guruswamy and actor Koel Mallick. The BJP’s former state president Rahul Sinha was also elected without a contest.
Unopposed elections were also reported in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. In Telangana, Congress candidates Abhishek Singhvi and Vem Narender Reddy secured seats. Tamil Nadu saw six candidates elected unopposed, including AIADMK member M Thambidurai, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, DMK nominees Tiruchi Siva and J Constantine Ravindran, Congress candidate M Christopher Tilak and DMDK treasurer L K Sudeesh.
In Himachal Pradesh, Congress candidate Anurag Sharma, a close associate of Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, was also elected to the Upper House.
With the results from the latest round of polls, the BJP is set to hold the largest number of seats in the Rajya Sabha.