Patna, March 1 Amid speculation that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav may contest the Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, party supremo Lalu Prasad convened a meeting of its parliamentary board here on Sunday.
The meeting is scheduled to take place four days before the deadline for filing nominations in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Speaking to reporters, RJD state unit spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary said, "I have nothing to comment on the speculation, but one thing is clear. People want our leader, Tejashwi ji, in the Upper House of Parliament. Let's wait and see. Things will soon become clear."
Of the total 16 Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, five will fall vacant in April, for which elections will be held on March 16.
The Rajya Sabha terms will end next month for Harivansh Narayan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh of the RJD, and Upendra Kushwaha of the RLM, a constituent of the NDA.
The RJD, the principal opposition party in the state, has only 25 MLAs, which is not enough to secure a Rajya Sabha seat.
The RJD-led grand alliance, which includes Congress, CPI(ML), CPI(M) and IIP, has only 35 members in the 243-strong state assembly, six short of the minimum number required to secure a seat in the Upper House of Parliament.
The suspense remains over the fifth seat, given the current situation where neither the RJD-led Mahagatbandhan nor the NDA has sufficient numbers to win it on its own.
To win a Rajya Sabha seat, one needs the support of at least 41 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly.
The deadline for filing nominations is March 5, while scrutiny of the papers will take place the following day.
Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until March 9.