On eve of Rajya Sabha polls, Bihar witnesses hectic political activity

Patna, Mar 15 (PTI) Hectic political activity was witnessed in Bihar on Sunday, on the eve of polls to five Rajya Sabha seats, in which the ruling NDA hopes to make a clean sweep even as the RJD rallied support in favour of its lone candidate.

Elections to the five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar will be held on Monday.

The NDA camp held a series of meetings of legislators who will vote on Monday. At least two such meetings were held at the residence of Parliamentary Affairs Minister and JD (U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary. One of these meetings was attended by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the party and is, arguably, the candidate expected to hog the maximum limelight.

Another meeting was held at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, where the NDA legislators reportedly practised mock polling with the help of replicas of the ballot papers that will be used in voting.

Talking to media persons before the meeting at Vijay Kumar Choudhary’s residence, Raju Tiwary, MLA and state unit president of Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV) party, said, “All five NDA candidates will win the elections. Three national presidents of NDA alliance partners—Nitish Kumar of JD (U), Nitin Nabin of BJP and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) Upendra Kushwaha—are in the fray. We are not bothered about what opposition leaders are claiming.” The other two NDA candidates are Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who aims at a hat-trick and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar, a former BJP MLA.

State minister Sanjay Kumar Paswan, who belongs to LJP (RV), told reporters, “Of course, many of us are first-time MLAs. There is a need for proper training. We are confident of the victory of all five NDA candidates, unlike the RJD, which is unable to keep its flock together and has locked all its MLAs inside a city hotel.” JD (U) MLC and party’s spokesman, Neeraj Kumar, said, “Family members of the RJD legislators would do well to lodge complaints at the concerned police stations that the MLAs have gone missing. Once the elections are over, the state government will also investigate who paid the bill for the luxury hotel.” However, RJD MLA Gautam Krishna told reporters upon emerging from the hotel, “You can see that nobody has been locked up inside. We have gathered at the hotel to discuss our strategy for tomorrow, and all MLAs have been given the freedom to come and go as they please.” The RJD has only 25 MLAs. Besides Mahagathbandhan allies, who account for ten more votes, the party needs the support of at least six more legislators for the victory of Amrendra Dhari Singh, who is seeking re-election for the second consecutive term.

The RJD is banking heavily on the support of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has five MLAs. RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav visited the residence of AIMIM state president Akhtarul Iman on Sunday as a goodwill gesture in the backdrop of the recent acrimony between the two parties.

“The party has decided to support RJD leader Amrendra Dhari Singh in the Rajya Sabha polls tomorrow. We all (five MLAs) will vote in favour of Singh tomorrow to ensure his victory,” Iman told reporters after meeting with Yadav.

Talking to reporters after visiting Iman’s residence, Tejashwi Yadav said, “All secular parties are united, and our MLAs will vote for the RJD candidate.” PTI NAC PKD RG

Category: Breaking News

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