Voting began for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar on Monday, with five nominees from the ruling NDA and one from the opposition RJD contesting the biennial polls, an official said.

The polling commenced at 9 am and will continue till 5 pm in the Bihar Assembly complex, where MLAs have started casting their ballots, he said.

Counting will begin after 5 pm, and the results are expected to be declared the same day.

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.

(PTI)

Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha began on Monday, with the opposition BJD accusing the ruling BJP of indulging in "horse trading".

The voting commenced at 9 am and will continue till 4 pm in the assembly complex, where MLAs have started casting their ballots, an official said.

The voting for the RS polls will be 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.

Two candidates of the BJP are its state unit president Manmohan Samal, and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar. Former Union minister Dilip Ray is also contesting as an Independent and has the support of the saffron party.

The BJD nominees are party leader Santrupt Misra and eminent urologist Dr Datteswar Hota, whom the Congress and the CPI(M) are supporting.

(PTI)

VIDEO | Bhubaneswar, Odisha: "We will win the Rajya Sabha polls and whoever tried to do horse-trading have been arrested," said Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka.
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/Rvq73IbnYd

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#WATCH | Patna: On Rajya Sabha elections, Bihar Minister Deepak Prakash says, "All 5 NDA candidates in Bihar are going to win the election...The opposition is not united, their MLAs have been forcefully kept locked up in hotels. We are confident that all five of our candidates… pic.twitter.com/iDtJvXzFmy

— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2026

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— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2026

#WATCH | Patna: On Rajya Sabha elections, Bihar JDU President Umesh Singh Kushwaha says, "NDA only has to formally declare victory. 101% our victory is certain... No matter what tactics the opposition resorts to, voting is happening in favour of the NDA. All five seats will be in… pic.twitter.com/DJkiTO9eeh

— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2026

Elections are being held to fill 37 seats of the Rajya Sabha across 10 states. These include:

The Election Commission announced the schedule for the biennial polls earlier on February 18 to fill the vacancies. Several prominent members of the Upper House are set to complete their terms in April. They include:

The ECI has instructed that only integrated violet sketch pens, supplied by the Returning Officer, are allowed to mark preferences on ballot papers. No other pen can be used during voting. The Commission will also appoint observers to closely supervise the polling process and ensure free and fair elections.