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Last Updated:March 16, 2026, 19:29 IST
Bihar Rajya Sabha Elections: Who were the 4 opposition MLAs who didn't turn up to vote? Who were NDA's candidates?
Nitish Kumar (left) and Nitin Nabin were in the fray. (PTI File)
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday managed an easy victory in the biennial polls to five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar, with its candidates including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
Though counting of votes was expected to conclude later in the evening, sources in the NDA claimed that “all 202 MLAs" belonging to the alliance had taken part in the polling. These included Kumar’s JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union minister Chirag Paswan, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha of Upendra Kushwaha, who is one of the five candidates.
The Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance of the Opposition, meanwhile, failed to reach the magic figure of 41 first-preference votes due to the absence of four opposition MLAs.
The number game
The opposition (RJD, Congress, Left) had a total combined strength of 35 legislators initially but was looking to secure six additional votes from other parties to reach the 41-vote threshold for their candidate, Amarendra Dhari Singh.
Rajya Sabha Election Results 2026 LIVE Updates HERE
According to the formula for Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar, each candidate would have needed at least 41 votes to win, had all 243 MLAs turned up to take part in polling. The BJP has 89 MLAs in the 243-strong Bihar Assembly. The Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United (JDU) has 85 members, while other Democratic Alliance (NDA) members, including Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), have 19, 5, and 4 MLAs, respectively.
Who were NDA’s candidates?
BJP: Nitin Nabin, Shivesh Kumar Ram
JD(U): Nitish Kumar, Ramnath Thakur
RLM (NDA ally): Upendra Kushwaha
Why Mahagathbandhan failed
Three Congress MLAs and one RJD MLA failed to turn up for voting, reducing the alliance’s voting strength directly, making it impossible for AD Singh to reach 41.
While AIMIM’s five MLAs and the lone BSP legislator reportedly voted for the RJD candidate, the absence of the four alliance MLAs wiped out this advantage.
The alliance, already facing a challenging number, could not ensure full attendance, leading to an effective strength lower than required, despite claims of unity by leaders.
The 4 MLAs who were absent
1. Surendra Prasad Kushwaha (Congress)
Constituency: Valmikinagar (West Champaran)
He is a first-time MLA, having won the seat in the November 2025 Bihar Assembly elections in a close contest against the JD(U) incumbent, Dhirendra Pratap Singh.
During the Rajya Sabha polling, his mobile phone was reported switched off, and he remained out of contact with party leadership throughout the day.
2. Manoj Biswas (Congress)
Constituency: Forbesganj (Araria)
He was elected as the MLA for Forbesganj in the 2025 assembly elections, defeating the BJP’s Vidya Sagar Keshri by a narrow margin of 221 votes.
Like Kushwaha, Biswas was incommunicado during the Rajya Sabha voting, contributing to the “missing" status of the Congress trio.
3. Manohar Prasad Singh (Congress)
Constituency: Manihari (Katihar)
A veteran politician and former police officer, Singh is a multiple-term MLA. He was originally with the JD(U) before joining the Congress in 2015. He represents the ST-reserved Manihari seat and is a well-known figure from the Kharwar community.
Although he was reportedly in contact earlier on the morning of the election and had assured leaders he would arrive, he eventually failed to show up for the vote.
4. Faisal Rahman (RJD)
Constituency: Dhaka (East Champaran).
Rahman is an RJD legislator who has previously served in the Bihar Assembly. He was the only RJD legislator among the four absentees. He later clarified that his absence was due to a personal emergency involving his mother’s medical treatment in Delhi.
With PTI, agency inputs
First Published:
March 16, 2026, 19:29 IST
News explainers Bihar Rajya Sabha Elections: How 4 Missing MLAs Kept Opposition Away From Magic Figure Of 41
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