Rajya Sabha polls: NDA sweeps Bihar, bags 3 seats in Odisha

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has secured victory in all five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar. The winning candidates include Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Ram from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitish Kumar and Ramnath Thakur from the Janata Dal (United), and Upendra Kushwaha from the Rashtriya Lok Morcha.  All the winning candidates secured the required number of votes to ensure their election to the Rajya Sabha. According to the results, Nitish Kumar received votes from 44 MLAs, while Nitin Nabin also secured the support of 44 legislators. Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha received 42 votes from MLAs, and Ramnath Thakur also secured the backing of 42 legislators.BJP candidate Shivesh Kumar defeated RJD candidate AD Singh on the basis of second-preference votes. 
 In this election, the Mahagathbandhan failed to secure a single seat. Amarendra Dhari Singh, the candidate of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, lost the election. The opposition Mahagathbandhan, however, appeared to falter during the voting process, with three MLAs of the Congress and one of the RJD remaining absent from the polling.
The NDA also secured three Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha after cross-voting by opposition MLAs during the biennial elections. In Odisha, the BJP won three of the four seats, including Independent candidate Dilip Ray, whom it backed. The other winners were BJP state unit chief Manmohan Samal, sitting MP Sujeet Kumar, and BJD’s Santrupt Misra.
A controversy erupted during Rajya Sabha polling in the Odisha Assembly when Brahmagiri MLA Upasna Mohapatra was issued a second ballot paper after allegedly making an error on the first. The opposition BJD and Congress strongly objected, calling it illegal and a violation of democratic norms. The ruling BJP defended the move, stating it was within the rules as the ballot had not been shown to an agent. The incident caused a temporary halt in voting for the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state.The loser was Dr Datteswar Hota, the BJD-backed candidate supported by the Congress and CPI(M). BJP’s third win came amid cross-voting, with at least five MLAs — three from Congress and two from BJD — reportedly backing Dilip Ray.
Speaking to media persons outside the Assembly, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik said, "The lady MLA from Brahmagiri made a clear mistake while voting. However, the officers present in the voting room, who are in charge, have illegally accepted her vote and issued a second ballot paper. This is completely against democratic norms and a violation of election rules. We strongly object to this. Some of our members have raised the issue, but they are not listening, thereby destroying the democratic election process." The BJP denied the allegations, saying no illegal activity or violation of rules took place during the polling. The party asserted that Mohapatra's vote was absolutely legal.

#WATCH | Bhubaneswar, Odisha: The returning officer of Rajya Sabha declares names of the newly elected Rajya Sabha members Manmohan Samal, Sujeet Kumar, Dilip Ray and Santrup Mishra and appoints certificates to them. pic.twitter.com/OuxEkMc0KZ

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BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress party's Karamvir Singh Boudh have been declared elected to two Rajya Sabha seats in keenly watched elections as developments unfolded over allegations of violation of vote secrecy. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in a late-night press conference, congratulated both the leaders on their win. Calling the elections interesting, Saini slammed the Congress, accusing it of holding its MLAs captive and transferring them to different places, referring to the shifting of Congress legislators from Himachal Pradesh.