In a significant political development, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured all five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar in the recent biennial elections, further strengthening its position in the Upper House. The alliance also won two seats in Odisha, aided by cross-voting from Opposition MLAs.

In Bihar, key NDA candidates included Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Both leaders secured 44 votes each in the Bihar Assembly. Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Morcha leaders Upendra Kushwaha and Ramnath Thakur garnered 42 votes each, ensuring a clean sweep for the alliance in the state.

One of the closely watched contests saw BJP candidate Shivesh Kumar defeat RJD’s A.D. Singh. Kumar secured 4,202 votes, while Singh received 3,700. Although Singh managed 37 first-preference votes, he failed to obtain any second-preference support. In contrast, Kumar’s tally was boosted by additional second-preference votes, which proved decisive in the outcome.

The results have sparked criticism from the Opposition, with the Congress and its allies alleging that the NDA benefited from cross-voting. The Congress also raised concerns over the conduct of some Opposition MLAs who abstained from voting, questioning the overall integrity of the electoral process.