Suspense looms large over Rajya Sabha candidates in Bihar

Amid a severe internal tussle between RJD and JD(U), the BJP is struggling to find suitable candidates for the Upper House polls. Five Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant this time, as the tenure of some members will come to an end on July 7. They are - JD(U) leader and union minister RCP Singh, Gopal Narayan Singh and Satish Chandra Dubey of BJP, Sharad Yadav and Misa Bharti of RJD, writes ETV Bharat's Amit Bhelari.

Patna:Suspense and uncertainty loom large in all the three major political parties in Bihar over the candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Even as nomination filing is scheduled to start today and the last day for withdrawal of nominations is May 31, none of the three major parties in Bihar-JD(U), BJP and RJD-haven't announced the names of their candidates. According to sources, the reason behind the delay is the internal conflict in the party.

While RJD and JD(U) are witnessing severe internal tussle, the BJP is struggling to find suitable candidates for the Upper House polls. Five Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant this time as the terms of the concerned members will come to end on July 7. The concerned candidates are JD(U) leader and union minister RCP Singh, Gopal Narayan Singh and Satish Chandra Dubey of BJP, Sharad Yadav and Misa Bharti of RJD.

Expressing concern over the delay by the NDA in releasing their candidate list, former Chief Minister and president of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram Manjhi said that there is a lack of coordination in the NDA.

“There is lack of coordination in the NDA and it is a matter of great concern that so far names of Rajya Sabha candidates have not been announced. I am worried that no mechanism has been developed in the NDA to discuss any issue with the alliance partners,” he said.

Another cause of concern for the NDA is that HAM had earlier demanded one Rajya Sabha seat and threatened the NDA leaders claiming that if they don't get the seat, they have other options as well.

However, most of the top NDA leaders including JD(U) supremo and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are tight-lipped on the issue. Nitish recently indicated that JDU(U) will declare its candidate list at the eleventh hour. “No need to announce the name so early. Let the time come and we will announce the names," Nitish recently told media.

Earlier JD(U) MLAs authorized Nitish to choose the names of the party's Rajya Sabha candidates. Out of the five seats, two each will go to BJP and RJD, whereas one seat will go to JDU. Most likely Nitish will drop RCP Singh and someone from the same caste would replace him. As of now, the fate of the RCP is uncertain.

RJD's parliamentary board has authorized party supremo Lalu Yadav to take the final call on the Rajya Sabha election candidates. Several names are floating in the political circle including philanthropist Baba Siddiqui who hails from Gopalganj. He has met Tejashwi Yadav several times in the past few months. Senior counsel Congress leader Kapil Sibal who appeared in court for Lalu in the fodder scam case is likely to be supported by RJD in the Upper House polls.

Senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui who was Finance Minister in the Grand Alliance government in Bihar is also on the potential list apart from Hena Shahab, and RJD leader from Purnea Rustam Khan. Lalu's eldest daughter Misa Bharti is almost certain to be fielded by RJD.

BJP is also tight-lipped on the issue. Most likely both Gopal Narayan Singh and Satish Chandra Dubey will be replaced with new faces in view of the 2024 general election and 2025 Assembly elections. According to party sources, BJP is mulling distributing the two seats among the upper caste and extremely backward caste.

The saffron party leadership has called a meeting of the state election committee to discuss the names of Rajya Sabha candidates. Altogether 25 leaders will be attending the meeting including BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal. It would be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming days and also whether the candidate list of the major parties would have little or no surprise.