There is a lot of excitement in the politics of Bihar regarding the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Now only one day is left for the nomination process, but the Grand Alliance led by National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has not yet formally announced its candidates for 5 Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar.
Last month, the Election Commission had announced biennial elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states including Bihar. Notification for 5 seats of Bihar was issued on 26 February itself. The last date for filing nomination is March 5. Voting and counting will take place on the same day on March 16. Due to Holi holiday on 3rd and 4th March, only one day is left for nomination i.e. 5th March.
Who is retiring?
The five Rajya Sabha MPs from Bihar whose tenure is ending in April include Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh along with Union Ministers Ramnath Thakur, Premchandra Gupta, Upendra Kushwaha and Amarendra Dhari Singh. Among them, Harivansh Narayan Singh and Ramnath Thakur are representatives of Janata Dal United (JDU), Premchandra Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh of RJD while Upendra Kushwaha is representative of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).
Based on the number of MLAs elected in the assembly elections held in Bihar last year, it is almost certain that 4 out of 5 seats will go to the NDA’s account, while for the 5th seat, the NDA will need the support of 3 additional MLAs. Currently, under NDA, JDU has 2 seats and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to get 2 seats. But there is a possibility of political manipulation regarding the 5th seat.
Doubts persist regarding Harivansh Narayan
According to information received from sources, the name of Union Minister Ramnath Thakur from JDU is considered almost certain. However, the situation regarding the name of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh is not clear. If Ramnath Thakur is elected to Rajya Sabha for the third time, it will be for the first time in the history of JDU, because till now Nitish’s party has not given more than 2 terms to any leader.
On the other hand, there is also discussion about the name of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar. An atmosphere seems to be forming in the party regarding his formal political innings. JDU National Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha has already said that Nishant should play an active role in the party. Today on Tuesday, Minister Shravan Kumar, who is very close to CM Nitish Kumar, said that it has been decided that Nishant will join JDU, however, on the question of sending him to Rajya Sabha, he said that anything can happen.
JDU General Secretary Shri Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha has openly advocated sending Nishant to Rajya Sabha. However, the final decision has to be taken by party president Nitish Kumar only.
This name is in discussion from BJP quota
Intensive brainstorming is going on on many names from BJP quota also. The names of party’s national president Nitin Naveen, Premranjan Patel, Jagannath Thakur, Vinod Tawde and Deepak Prakash are leading in this race. Deepak Prakash is currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand. Besides, he is also the co-in-charge of Bihar.
RLM’s Upendra Kushwaha, who reached Rajya Sabha with the support of BJP, was recently called to Delhi. According to sources, he has met the top leadership of BJP in Delhi. There is also speculation in political circles about a possible merger of RLM with BJP. However, political analyst Arun Pandey believes that Upendra Kushwaha may refrain from merging his party.
Tejashwi will be the candidate from RJD!
On the other hand, the main opposition party RJD has also not declared its candidate yet. The name of the party’s national working president Tejashwi Yadav is also in discussion. Current MPs Premchandra Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh are considered to be strong contenders for the ticket. The final decision will be taken by party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The Grand Alliance currently has 35 MLAs in the Bihar Assembly, while 41 votes are needed for victory. In such a situation, the support of MLAs of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) can play an important role.