Patna, Mar 15 (PTI) Bihar Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary on Sunday claimed that the victory of all five NDA candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls in the state is certain.
Choudhary made the remark after attending an NDA meeting convened by JD(U)’s national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha at his residence here.
The meeting was held a day before the Rajya Sabha elections on Monday.
“Win of all five NDA candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls in the state is certain. Today’s meeting was called to discuss the strategy for Monday’s Rajya Sabha polls,” he said.
Union Minister Harsh Malhotra and Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who are the BJP’s central observers for the Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar, were present at the meeting.
Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, minister Sharwan Kumar, state BJP chief Sanjay Saraogi and other senior leaders of NDA constituents also attended the meeting.
Another meeting of all NDA MLAs will be held at Choudhary’s official residence later in the day.
Six candidates – five from the ruling NDA and one from the opposition – are in the fray for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin are contesting the biennial polls.
Other NDA candidates in the fray are Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who aims at a hat-trick, Upendra Kushwaha of the RLM and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar, a former MLA, hoping to make his debut in Parliament.
RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh is also in the fray. The party held two of the five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar for which polls are being held.
But in view of its decimation in the 2025 assembly polls, where it managed only 25 seats, the RJD chose to contest only one, dropping Prem Chand Gupta, a former Union minister and key aide of party supremo Lalu Prasad.
The NDA enjoys a brute majority in the assembly, though its tally of 202 in the 243-member House falls three short of the number needed to secure all five Rajya Sabha seats.
To win a Rajya Sabha berth, one needs the support of at least 41 MLAs in the Bihar assembly. PTI PKD BDC
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