Some were shepherded to hilly resorts, others buried differences and embraced at Iftar parties, and most made calls to strike unlikely alliances.

The election for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states is being watched keenly as parties choose realpolitik over long-nursed rivalries for a seat in the Upper House of Parliament. Out of 37, 26 candidates from seven states have been elected unopposed, and a battle is on for the remaining 11 from 3 states -- Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana.

176 MLAs from the NDA have so far cast their votes, while from the Opposition camp, the Mahagathbandhan, 37 have cast their votes.

Only 24 RJD MLAs have so turned up to cast their votes.

Speaking on Rajya Sabha elections, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said the BJP will win all five seats.

"In democracy, everyone remains hopeful about victory. Our equation is based on the will of the people. We will win in that equation... All five of our candidates who will go (to the Rajya Sabha) will help in building a developed Bihar enriched with good governance," he said.

"The opposition never does anything but cry. They cry, they make allegations. These are the same people who once made Bihar cry, but today the people of Bihar are making them cry," he added.

#WATCH | Patna: On Rajya Sabha elections, Bihar Dy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha says, "In democracy, everyone remains hopeful about victory. Our equation is based on the will of the people. We will win in that equation... All five of our candidates who will go (to the Rajya Sabha) will… pic.twitter.com/YdqfGNcbMA

— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2026

#NDTVExclusive | "Fighting to win" : RJD Working President Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) on Rajya Sabha elections @journal_raman @SomuAnand_ pic.twitter.com/TeV9k6KR8I

— NDTV (@ndtv) March 16, 2026

#WATCH | Rajya Sabha Elections | Chandigarh | Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini arrives at the Haryana Assembly. pic.twitter.com/tn7cyruaEg

— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2026

VIDEO | Patna: JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha, on the Rajya Sabha elections says, "As per your feedback and assessment, the NDA will win all five seats. Four seats are already certain, and we will win the fifth seat as well by a big margin. We have additional support and backing, and the… pic.twitter.com/fCtY6Nbczg

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 16, 2026

VIDEO | Rajya Sabha polls 2026: Leaders arrive to cast their vote at Bihar Assembly Assembly complex in Patna. JD(U) MLA Anant Singh says, "I am sure that we will win all five seats."
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/kPgKemDFvZ

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 16, 2026

Voting was underway on Monday 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 am and 4 pm and votes will be counted from 5 pm onwards.

(PTI)

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, AD 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.

BJP needs the support of three more MLAs for their fifth candidate to be elected.

(ANI)

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

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 16, 2026

#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

#WATCH | Patna: On Rajya Sabha elections, LJP(RV) leader Sanjay Kumar Paswan says, "We are united. The opposition's clan will collapse. They are scared; they had kept their MLAs locked up. Two or four even ran away... Why should we panic? Did we lock our MLAs up in a hotel?..." pic.twitter.com/CpVPJVzGbm

— 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.