Rajya Sabha elections highlights on March 16, 2026: Nitish Kumar, Nitin Nabin elected to Rajya Sabha, counting for 2 Haryana seats on hold

The National Democratic Alliance romped home with all five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar and three in Odisha while the counting for the two seats in Haryana was delayed after the BJP and the Congress filed separate complaints.

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NDA wins eight Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, Odisha; Haryana results on hold

NDA triumphs in Rajya Sabha elections, winning eight seats across Bihar and Odisha; Haryana results delayed amid complaints.

The ruling BJP on Monday won two of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha, while the opposition BJD and a saffron party-backed Independent candidate bagged one seat each in the biennial polls held here, officials said.

Returning Officer and Odisha Assembly secretary Satyabrata Rout handed over certificates to the four newly elected members.

BJP’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and the party’s MP Sujeet Kumar secured 35 votes each to win the elections.

BJD’s official candidate Santrupt Misra won the polls by securing 31 votes.

BJP-backed Independent candidate and former Union minister Dilip Ray won the fourth seat through second-preference votes, defeating opposition-backed nominee Datteswar Hota, who was supported by the BJD, Congress and CPI(M).

Both Ray and Hota secured 23 first preference votes each, an official said. 

-PTI

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday congratulated the BJP’s Rajya Sabha poll nominees and the Independent candidate backed by the party for winning the election, though the official announcement in this regard is yet to be made.

The BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and its sitting Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar are the official candidates, while the party supported former Union minister Dilip Ray, who fought the polls as an independent.

In a post on X, Mr. Majhi said, “Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the party’s state president Shri @SamalManmohan7 Ji, who emerged victorious as a candidate on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections, the party’s senior leader Shri @SujeetKOfficial Ji, and the party-supported independent candidate Shri @DilipRayOdisha Ji”.

Mr. Majhi said the victory marks an important milestone in fulfilling the resolve to build a ‘Viksit Odisha’ under the BJP government.

-PTI

Three BJP backed candidates, Manmohan Samal, Sujeet Kumar and Dilip Ray and BJD candidate Santrupta Mishra have won their respective Rajya Sabha elections. 

BJD deputy chief whip Pratap Keshari Deb said eight party MLAs cross-voted in favour of independent of Dilip Ray. 

-Satyasundar Barik

The ruling NDA in Bihar on Monday appeared poised for an easy victory in the biennial polls to five Rajya Sabha seats, 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.

On the other hand, the Opposition Mahagathbandhan appeared to falter, with three MLAs of the Congress and one of the RJD remaining absent from the polling on a day when even parties not aligned with the coalition, like AIMIM and BSP, were present.

The AIMIM, which has five MLAs in the Assembly, and the lone BSP legislator claimed to have voted in favour of RJD candidate Amarendra Dhari Singh. 

-PTI

Polling for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana ended at 4 p.m. on Monday.

While the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which has two legislators, abstained from voting, the Congress MLAs, who were shifted to Himachal Pradesh returned shortly after the polling began at 9 a.m. and cast their votes. 

The results are expected to be declared later in the evening.

-PTI

The BJD on Monday raised the issue of Rajya Sabha elections in Upper House of Parliament. 

According to the regional party here, BJD MPs in the Rajya Sabha on Monday raised the issue of second ballot illegally given to BJP MLAs Upasana Mohapatra and Purna Chandra Sethy in the Odisha Rajya Sabha Elections 2026, protested on this gross irregularities, demanded repoll and countermanding as the poll process has been vitiated and then proceeded to walk out in protest from the Rajya Sabha. 

-Satyasundar Barik

BJP-backed independent candidate Dillip Ray said, “Everyone knows my relationship with leaders across party line. I pay my gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and State BJP president Manmohan Samal for their total support. I have got success because of support of many in BJD and Congress.”

-Satyadundar Barik

At least five MLAs of the Opposition BJD and Congress on Monday reportedly voted in favour of the BJP-supported Independent nominee Dilip Ray in the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, for which voting is underway. 

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das told reporters that three of its MLAs - Ramesh Jena, Dasarathi Gomango and Sofia Firdous - have “voted in favour of the BJP”.

BJD’s Banki MLA Devi Ranjan Tripathy also announced that he voted in favour of the BJP-backed Independent candidate.

“I oppose our party’s decision to join hands with the Congress. My decision to vote for the BJP-supported Independent candidate is in line with the legacy of Biju Patnaik, who had all along fought against the Congress,” Mr. Tripathy said. 

-PTI

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi casts his vote in the Odisha Assembly for the Rajya Sabha elections.

BJD chief Naveen Patnaik slams BJP for “horse-trading”. He says, “I have spoken to you in last few days about BJP and its allies, you know what I mean, for the horse-trading they will do. They have collected a number of persons who voted for them. Most of them have criminal past, I am ashamed to say. You can check yourself as to how many of their parents went to jail and how they were with them,” Mr. Patnaik says.

“And yesterday, BJP MLAs were kept in Paradip. I feel very sad that Odisha, a beautiful State, is having these problems. BJD fought before and will continue to fight for democratic right and economic development of our beloved State,” said Mr. Patnaik.

Tusharkanti Behera, BJD MLA and former Minister, alleges BJD Jayadev MLA Naba Kishor Mallick was heckled by some unknown men inside Odisha Legislative Assembly while he was proceeding to cast his vote.

- Satyasundar Barik

BJD MLA Souvic Biswal, representing Choudwar-Cuttack Assembly constituency, admitted to have cross-voted saying his father, former BJD MLA Pravat Biswal, was humiliated and expelled by the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party. “I have voted for the person on whom late Biju Patnaik had his blessings,” he said indicating his vote for the independent candidate Dilip Ray.

Debiranjan Tripathy, BJD MLA, also defected from party line and voted for independent candidate, Dilip Ray. He said BJD had made an unholy alliance with Congress.

- Satyasundar Barik

Bhakta Charan Das, president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, said three MLAs of his party have voted against the party whip in the ongoing biennial Rajya Sabha elections.

- Satyasundar Barik

Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha is underway in the Assembly complex on Monday (March 16, 2026), with the opposition BJD and Congress accusing the ruling BJP of indulging in “horse trading”.

As the voting commenced at 9 a.m., Health and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling was first to cast his ballot, followed by Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, who returned to Odisha after a treatment in Delhi.

Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik also cast his vote while several MLAs were in the queue to exercise their franchise at the polling booth on the Assembly premises.

- PTI

Ahead of Nitish Kumar’s new beginning in the Rajya Sabha, notifications were issued for the upcoming poll to choose the new JD-U chief, if necessary. This position was held by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for several years. The notification said that the poll will be held on March 27, 2026.However, party sources said the position of party chief will once again be held by Mr. Kumar.

- Amit Bhelari

​​BJD MLA Souvic Biswal, who represents the Choudwar–Cuttack Assembly constituency, arrived at the Odisha Assembly to cast his vote along with his wife. She told reporters that he would not be responding to any media queries as he has taken a ‘vow of silence’.

- Satyasundar Barik

In a controversial incident during a recent voting session in Brahmagiri, Odisha, Leader of Opposition and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik accused election officials of improperly accepting a second ballot from MLA Upasana Mohapatra, despite her apparent voting mistake.

“The lady MLA of Brahmagiri [Upasana Mohapatra] has made clear mistake while voting, but the officers sitting in voting room who were in-charge of this have illegally accepted her vote and issued a second ballot paper. This is totally against the democratic norms and violation of election rules. We are objecting to it strongly, some of our members with their authorisation slip, thereby totally destroying democratic election process,” Mr. Patnaik said. — Satyasundar Barik

The voting for the RS polls is being held in the State after a gap of 12 years, as this time, five candidates are in the fray for the four seats which will fall vacant on April 2.

When Congress MLA from Sanakhemundi Ramesh Jena was questioned whether he had followed the party whip while voting, he responded by saying, “I have voted for whoever I wished.”

In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs and the support of three Independents, while the BJD has 48 members after the suspension of two of its legislators on January 15. The Congress has 14 MLAs and one member of CPI(M). — Satyasundar Barik

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Ranvijay Sahu described the Rajya Sabha elections as significant not just for the Rajya Sabha but for Bihar and the country, and said NDA was “off the radar”.

He said, “No one is off the radar; the NDA people have gone off the radar... The numbers will go up to 50. We have the support of the people... All the alliance partners are with us...” — ANI

Bihar Minister Mohd. Zama Khan expressed confidence in the JDU-BJP alliance winning the Rajya Sabha elections, thanking the people of Bihar for their support. He said, “I want to thank all the people of Bihar for their blessings, due to which we are going to win the Rajya Sabha elections.

“He added, “Many people are with us who like development, who like the way our government works. I will definitely say that many companions are in touch with us because they want development.” — ANI

Before casting the vote, two MLAs of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), which is a part of the NDA, Deepa Kumari and Jyoti Devi, were seen coming out from the chamber of Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav. Deepa Kumari is the daughter-in-law of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Jyoti Devi is Deepa’s mother.

- Amit Bhelari

“I was suspended from the BJD, and subsequently my seat in the House was also changed,” said Sanatan Mahakud, Champua MLA. “The party never contacted me regarding who the candidates were or whom I should vote for. I have already stated that I would not run behind the BJD. 

“Which law requires a suspended MLA to comply with a whip issued by the party? I have voted keeping in mind the best future of the State,” he said.

- Satyasundar Barik

BJD MLAs, Chakramani Kanhar and Naba Kishor Mallick, who weren’t in touch with the party for the past three days, reached the Odisha Legislative Assembly for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Dasarathi Gomango, Congress MLA who was issued multiple notices for not attending party meetings, also appeared in the Odisha Legislative Assembly for voting.

- Satyasundar Barik

Congress leaders are trying hard to contact their two MLAs, Manoj Bishwas from Forbesganj and Surendra Prasad from Valmikinagar Assembly seat, as they have not reached the Assembly premises to cast their vote. 

One RJD MLA, Faisal Rahman, from the Dhaka Assembly seat is also not present. NDA requires three votes to win all five Rajya Sabha seats.

- Amit Bhelari

RJD National Working President Tejashwi Yadav assured that his party has enough support to clinch a Rajya Sabha seat away from the NDA.

RJD and its alliance have 35 MLAs in the Assembly but require the support of 41 MLAs to send its candidate, A.D. Singh, to the Rajya Sabha.

Tejashwi Yadav said that AIMIM and BSP, which have six seats and one seat respectively, have extended their support for the RJD candidates.

“We are confident. Earlier, the strength of Mahagathbandha was 35. To win, 41 is needed. BJP-NDA needed 3. But we accepted this challenge and chose to fight the BJP, not to cower before them. Colleagues from AIMIM and BSP have supported the RJD candidate. So, the strength now is 41,” he said.

- ANI

Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief and NDA candidate for Rajya Sabha from Bihar, Upendra Kushwaha, on Monday (March 16, 2026), expressed confidence that all five of the candidates of NDA will secure victory in the Rajya Sabha elections.

“The counting is happening today itself, so the results will come in the same way that we have been repeatedly telling about... When RJD itself is gradually disappearing from the political scene of Bihar, then what can we say about their MLAs disappearing... The victory of all five NDA candidates is more than 100% certain,” Mr. Kushwaha said.

- ANI

Political leaders expressed confidence over the outcome of the Rajya Sabha elections as voting for five seats from Bihar is underway, with both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition asserting their chances of victory.

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi exuded confidence that all NDA candidates would win the Rajya Sabha polls in the State. “All five seats are going to go to the account of Bihar’s NDA. When we are about to leave after the counting of votes, all five of our leaders will leave as Rajya Sabha members; there is no doubt about this,” he said.

Mr. Saraogi also targeted the Opposition, claiming that it lacked confidence in its legislators. “They [The RJD] do not have trust in their MLAs... Only the people of the Mahagathbandhan can tell why they have kept their MLAs tied up,” he added.

- ANI

Mokama MLA Anant Singh reached Bihar Legislative Assembly premises in a prisoner van to cast his vote. After voting, Mr. Singh said that he will not contest the next Assembly elections. He asserted that his children will contest the elections.

- Amit Bhelari

BJP Rajya Sabha candidate from Bihar Shivesh Ram on Monday (March 16, 2026) exuded confidence that all five candidates of NDA, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will secure a comfortable victory as all the MLAs of the alliance are united.

Speaking to the reporters, Mr. Ram said, “Behind us, Prime Minister Modi is working on the development of the country. All leaders of Bihar are united, and very good results are going to come in the evening. All five NDA candidates are going to win. Victory is absolutely certain because we are united and the opposition is not united, that is what I know,” he said.

- ANI

Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejaswi Yadav expressed sympathy to Former CM Nitish Kumar after the BJP “sent him to Rajya Sabha so he can be removed from the post of CM.”

“BJP has done something similar to the Maharashtra model in Bihar by sending Nitish Kumar to Rajya Sabha so that he can be removed from the post of CM,” Mr. Yadav said after voting for Rajya Sabha.

“I have my full sympathy for him. When Nitish ji was leaving the INDIA bloc to form the government with the BJP, that time itself, I had anticipated that in the days to come, Janata Dal (United) would be finished.

- Amit Bhelari

Voting was underway on Monday (March 16, 2026) for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana, with a candidate each from the BJP, Congress and an Independent in the fray.

BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia, Karamvir Singh Boudh of the Congress and Independent candidate Satish Nandal are in the fray for the two seats. The BJP is backing Nandal for the second seat.

Nandal had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls as a BJP nominee and is currently designated as one of the party’s state vice presidents.

Polling is being held between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and votes will be counted from 5 p.m. onwards.

Voting for five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar has begun, according to an official, with five nominees from the ruling NDA and one from the Opposition RJD contesting the biennial polls.

Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin are among the NDA candidates.

The other three nominees from the ruling coalition are Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha, both sitting members of the Rajya Sabha, and BJP’s Shivesh Kumar, who is seeking a berth in the Upper House of Parliament for the first time.

With numbers comfortably in favour of the NDA for four seats and marginally short for the fifth, the Opposition forced an election by fielding RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh.

- PTI