RS polls: Manjhi demands one seat; NDA mulls names for Bihar

NDA's Jitan Ram Manjhi demands a Rajya Sabha seat as BJP considers candidates for Bihar. Elections for 37 seats in 10 states are on March 16.

As the senior BJP leaders in New Delhi deliberate over the names of Rajya Sabha candidadtes from Bihar, like the assembly elections, the NDA smaller partner, Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM-S has raised the demand for at least one seat.

PJitan Ram Manjhi (HT Photo)

The Election Commission has issued a notification for biennial polls for 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states. Nominations are to be filed till March 5 and the elections are scheduled for March 16.

Manjhi who had bargained hard during the seat sharing excercise during the Bihar assembly election 2025, on Saturday, that his party Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) should be given a Rajya Sabha seat in Bihar. Manjhi’s party contested on six assembly seats and won on ffive while Kushwaha’s RLM contested on six and won on four seats.

“HAM-S, a constituent of the NDA, had been promised one Rajya Sabha seat by the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” claimed Manjhi while interaction with media in Gaya.

“Ahead of the 2024 general elections, we were promised by top BJP leaders two seats in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. But we got only one Lok Sabha seat, and we won it for the NDA,” Manjhi, who floated his own party in 2015, told reporters here on Saturday.

“The promise on the Rajya Sabha seat remains to be fulfilled. I am not going to ask for that, but our party should be given at least one Rajya Sabha seat,” he said.

Of the total 16 Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar, five will be vacated in April, for which elections will be held. The five are 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.

A senior BJP leader, familiar with the matter ruled out any seat going to allies, putting Kushwaha’s candidature at stake.

Kushwaha is a former Union minister who entered the Upper House in 2025 with the help of the BJP.

“Kushwaha cannot bargain for MLC and Rajya Sabha seats at a time. In such a scenarion BJP would be contesting three and JD (U) two seats as Nitish Kumar’s party is not keen on third seat,” said the BJP leader.

Suspense continues ove newly-elected BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who the party insiders said would like to contest Lok Sabha polls from Patna rather than going to Rajya Sabha. “But the ultimate decision would be taken by senior leaders,” said a leader.

Given the present arithmetic, the NDA could easily win four seats, while one seat could go to the opposition.