The NDA has secured 21 out of 37 Rajya Sabha seats, strengthening the BJP’s position in the Upper House. The INDIA bloc has won 13 seats, while the BJD has taken 1. Counting has been paused for the remaining two seats in Haryana.
Out of the 37 seats, 26 candidates were elected unopposed. These included seven from the BJP and one each from its allies—Shiv Sena, the Republican Party of India (Athawale), NCP, AIADMK, Pattali Makkal Katchi and the United People’s Party Liberal. The Congress secured five seats uncontested, the Trinamool Congress four, the DMK three, and the NCP (SP) one.
Polling was held for the remaining 11 seats: two in Haryana, five in Bihar, and four in Odisha. In Odisha, where the election was marred by allegations of violence and horse-trading, the BJP won two seats and supported an Independent candidate who claimed the third.
The BJD managed to retain one seat. While the BJP had the numbers to win two seats and the BJD one, the contest for the fourth seat saw the BJD, Congress, and CPM backing one Independent candidate, and the BJP supporting another. Ultimately, BJP-backed Dilip Ray emerged victorious.
In Bihar, the NDA was expected to win four seats based on its strength. However, the INDIA bloc lost the fifth seat despite support from AIMIM and the BSP, as three Congress MLAs and one RJD MLA failed to vote with the alliance.
Rajya Sabha elections are conducted through proportional representation using a single transferable vote system, where legislators must show their ballots to authorised party agents.
After the counting of second-preference votes, Bihar Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav said the NDA’s victory was confirmed. He noted that while the opposition knew it was short of a majority, it chose to contest rather than concede. He also alleged betrayal, claiming that the alliance would have secured victory had all supporting votes held firm. According to him, five AIMIM members and one BSP ally had backed them, and the opposition would decide its next steps later.
In Bihar, former chief minister Nitish Kumar of the JD (U) and BJP leader Nitin Nabin were elected. The BJP and JD (U) won two seats each, while their ally, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, secured one.
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Meanwhile, counting in Haryana remains stalled amid a closely fought contest between the Congress and a BJP-backed Independent candidate. The BJP, with 48 MLAs, is in a position to elect its nominee Sanjay Bhatia, while the Congress, supported by 37 MLAs, is backing Karamveer Boudh. The presence of Independent candidate Satish Nandal, a former BJP Assembly candidate, has made the contest more competitive.
Tensions escalated after polling agents alleged that two Congress MLAs showed their ballots to unauthorised individuals instead of the party’s designated agent. In response, a Congress delegation led by legal expert and Rajya Sabha member-elect Abhishek Manu Singhvi approached the Election Commission.
The party submitted a complaint from Boudh, accusing returning officer Pankaj Aggarwal of improperly entertaining objections regarding a breach of voting secrecy, despite no such concerns being raised during polling.
In his complaint, Boudh urged the Election Commission to obtain all related records and video footage, alleging bias on the part of the returning officer and seeking a fair resolution to the dispute.
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