Elections to five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar will be held on March 16, setting the stage for intense political manoeuvring as the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appears poised to capture all berths amid a weakened Opposition.
According to a notification issued by the Election Commission, nominations will begin on 26 February, with polling scheduled for 16 March.
Of the five seats, three are currently held by NDA constituents. Two belong to the Janata Dal (United), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The incumbents, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh, are serving their second consecutive terms.
The JD(U) had earlier maintained a policy of not granting a third consecutive Rajya Sabha term to the same individual. The precedent was set when former national president RCP Singh was denied a third term and had to resign from the Union Cabinet. Whether the party will adhere to that position this time remains unclear, particularly as deviation could raise questions over internal consistency.
The third NDA-held seat is occupied by Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), who entered the Upper House in 2025 with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s backing following a by-election triggered by Vivek Thakur’s election to the Lok Sabha.
Although the RLM has only four MLAs in the 243-member Assembly, Kushwaha remains an important ally representing the Koeri OBC community. His son, Deepak Prakash, has been inducted into the state Cabinet despite not being a legislator and must secure election to either House of the state legislature by May to retain his ministerial berth.
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The remaining two seats are held by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which now has just 25 MLAs in the Assembly. With a candidate requiring at least 40 votes to win under the existing formula, the party faces an uphill task to retain even one seat.
One of the RJD’s sitting MPs is Prem Chand Gupta, a former Union minister and close aide of party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. The other is Amarendra Dhari Singh, a Patna-based businessman reportedly backed by Tejashwi Yadav.
The Assembly elections held in November last year gave the NDA a commanding 202 seats, while the RJD and its allies, the Congress and the Left, were reduced to a combined tally of 35, significantly weakening their bargaining position in the Upper House contest.
Though none of the five seats currently belongs to the BJP, the party, with 89 MLAs, is expected to stake a strong claim. Speculation persists that Nitin Nabin, recently elevated within the party’s national structure, could be considered as a candidate.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, is also expected to seek accommodation. The party won five Lok Sabha seats in
2025 and secured 19 Assembly seats last year, strengthening its bargaining leverage within the NDA.
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, leader of the Hindustani Awam Morcha, may also press claims for representation, arguing that his party has not received proportionate reward despite supporting the coalition.
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