Patna, March 15 Hectic political activity was observed in Bihar on Sunday, the eve of elections for five Rajya Sabha seats, in which the ruling NDA hopes to achieve a clean sweep, even as the RJD rallied support in favor of its lone candidate.
Elections for the five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar will be held on Monday.
The NDA camp held a series of meetings with 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 receive the most attention.
Another meeting was held at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, where NDA legislators reportedly practiced mock voting using replicas of the ballot papers that will be used in the actual voting.
Speaking 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. The national presidents of the NDA alliance partners—Nitish Kumar of JD (U), Nitin Nabin of BJP, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) Upendra Kushwaha—are contesting. We are not concerned about what opposition leaders are claiming."
The other two NDA candidates are Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who aims for 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. Proper training is needed. We are confident of the victory of all five NDA candidates, unlike the RJD, which is unable to keep its members united and has locked all its MLAs inside a city hotel."
JD (U) MLC and party spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, said, "The family members of the RJD legislators should 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 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 the 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 heavily banking 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 (five MLAs) will vote in favor 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."