March 16, New Delhi – Polling for the election to 37 Rajya Sabha seats (the upper house of parliament) across 10 states was held on Monday. Twenty-six candidates from seven states have already been elected unopposed. The remaining 11 seats are contested in three states: Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana.
In Bihar, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared set for an easy victory in the biennial elections for five Rajya Sabha seats, with its candidates including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin.
NDA candidates who won the Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar include Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur (from the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, and former MLA Shivesh Kumar (from the BJP).
Photo: Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary congratulates BJP National President Nitin Nabin after his victory in the Rajya Sabha election in Patna on Monday, March 16, 2026.
Photo 2: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulates BJP Odisha president Manmohan Samal, BJP leader Sujeet Kumar, and Independent candidate Dilip Ray after their victory in the Rajya Sabha election in Bhubaneswar on Monday, March 16, 2026.