Intense political activity was reported in Bihar, Odisha and Haryana ahead of voting on Monday to elect 11 members to the Rajya Sabha, while 26 seats across seven states are likely to be filled unopposed.
The biennial elections are being conducted for 37 seats in the Rajya Sabha, including seven in Maharashtra, four in Odisha, six in Tamil Nadu, five in West Bengal, three in Assam, five in Bihar, two each in Chhattisgarh and Haryana, one in Himachal Pradesh, and two in Telangana.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is in power in six of the 10 states participating in the Upper House polls, currently holds 134 seats in the 234-member Rajya Sabha and is expected to further increase its strength.
Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc, which governs four of the states going to polls, currently has 80 members in the Upper House.
The counting of votes will also take place on the same day.
In Bihar, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared confident of winning all five seats, with key leaders including Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United), Nitin Nabin of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Upendra Kushwaha in the contest.
The other two NDA candidates include Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the Janata Dal (United), who is aiming for a third consecutive term, and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar.
“All NDA leaders are confident of winning all five seats. The unease is in the opposition camp, and they are holding discussions among themselves. That shows which side is uncertain about the outcome,” said Vijay Kumar Chaudhary of Janata Dal (United).
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is relying heavily on the support of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has five MLAs. RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav visited the residence of AIMIM state president Akhtarul Iman on Sunday.
“The party has decided to support RJD leader Amrendra Dhari Singh in the Rajya Sabha polls,” Akhtarul Iman told news agency Press Trust of India. Tejashwi Yadav also said that all secular parties were united and their MLAs would vote for the RJD candidate.
In Odisha, the biennial Rajya Sabha elections for four seats have turned into a high-stakes political contest. The state unit of the Indian National Congress has issued a show-cause notice to a missing MLA, while two men were arrested in Karnataka for allegedly trying to bribe legislators. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has moved its MLAs to the port town of Paradip for what it described as “voting procedure training.”