Bihar Rajya Sabha polls tomorrow, hotel politics underway on eve of key election
India Today
Ahead of voting for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar on March 16, parties have begun consolidating MLAs, with the Grand Alliance keeping its legislators together in Patna.
A closely watched contest for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar will take place on March 16, with six candidates in the fray and intense political manoeuvring already visible on the eve of the vote.
Voting will be held from 9 am to 5 pm at a polling station set up inside the Bihar Assembly complex, where Members of the Legislative Assembly will cast their ballots. Counting will begin later the same evening and the results are expected to be declared on the same day.
The election has drawn attention as the contest involves multiple parties and alliances, with six candidates competing for five seats.
From the BJP, the candidates are the party’s national president Nitin Naveen and Shivesh Kumar. The JDU has fielded Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Ramnath Thakur. Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha is contesting as an NDA-backed candidate, while the RJD has fielded AD Singh as the candidate of the Grand Alliance.
Political activity intensified in Patna ahead of the election, with the Grand Alliance moving its legislators to a hotel in what observers described as a familiar round of “hotel politics”.
Grand Alliance MLAs were accommodated at Hotel Panache, where RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met them ahead of the vote. According to party leaders, the legislators were asked to stay together there overnight before casting their ballots.
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