Hectic political activity has gripped three states — Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana — ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls on Monday. Voting will be required to elect 11 seats in these states, while 26 seats across seven states are set to be elected unopposed.
The biennial elections are being held for 37 seats, with the NDA, which is in power in six of the 10 states, seeking to increase its tally. The Opposition INDIA bloc, which is in power in four states, holds 80 seats.
In Bihar, the NDA camp seems confident of making a clean sweep on all five seats, with three key leaders — Nitish Kumar, Nitin Nabin, and Upendra Kushwaha — in the fray. The RJD, however, is banking heavily on the support of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has five MLAs.
In Odisha, the biennial RS elections for four seats have descended into a high-stakes political drama, with the state Congress issuing a show-cause notice to a missing MLA while two men were arrested in Karnataka for allegedly attempting to bribe legislators.
The BJP has moved its MLAs to Paradip for a training session on Rajya Sabha voting procedure, while BJD chief Naveen Patnaik has been meeting party MLAs at his residence, appealing to them to desist from cross-voting.
The counting will be held on the same day, and the results are expected to be announced soon.
