Patna, March 3 (IANS) Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) National President, Upendra Kushwaha, has been officially declared as the party’s candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Bihar. As an National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-supported candidate, Kushwaha will file his nomination on March 5.
The announcement was made through a press release issued by state spokesperson Nitin Bharti, stating that after detailed deliberations among the top leadership of the NDA, it was decided that Kushwaha would contest for the Rajya Sabha seat.
Leaders from all NDA constituent parties are expected to be present during the filing of Kushwaha's nomination.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kushwaha returned from New Delhi after a long meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to sources, discussions focussed on the strategy for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Kushwaha had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Karakat parliamentary constituency but lost to Rajaram Singh Kushwaha of CPI(ML).
Following the Lok Sabha election, Kushwaha was elected to the Rajya Sabha under the BJP quota, and his current tenure is set to end in April this year.
Other outgoing Rajya Sabha members from Bihar include Ramnath Thakur, Harivansh Narayan Singh, Prem Chand Gupta, and Amarendra Dhari Singh.
As per the current strength in the Bihar Assembly, the NDA has 202 MLAs, while 41 votes are required to win one Rajya Sabha seat.
To secure all five seats, a total of 205 MLAs would be needed, making the fifth seat numerically challenging and politically significant.
On the other hand, the Grand Alliance currently has 35 MLAs. If it secures the support of five AIMIM MLAs and one Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, the Opposition could potentially be in a position to win one seat.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced its candidates for its share of seats in Bihar, nominating Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar.
With nominations closing soon, the political contest for the fifth Rajya Sabha seat in Bihar is expected to intensify in the coming days.
