NDA Sweeps Bihar, Wins Three Odisha Seats as Cross-Voting
The National Democratic Alliance secured all five Upper House seats in Bihar while winning three of the four available spots in Odisha following significant cross-voting by opposition legislators. In contrast, results for two contested positions remain on hold after a dispute over ballot secrecy involving complaints from both major parties and allegations regarding vote counting integrity.
Key Points
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1The NDA secured all five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar and three out of four available seats in Odisha.
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2Cross-voting by opposition MLAs significantly aided BJP-backed candidates, with BJD members reportedly voting for the Independent candidate Dilip Ray to win a seat against Congress nominee Manmohan Samal.
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3The results remain pending or delayed due to cross-party complaints regarding ballot secrecy and alleged violations in Haryana involving both BJPs and Congress parties.
Developments
The National Democratic Alliance won nine Rajya Sabha seats across Bihar (five), Odisha (three including an independent candidate supported by them), and Haryana. The opposition parties secured one seat each: the Congress Party from Haryana and Biju Janata Dal from Odisha, amidst reports of internal voting irregularities in both states affecting counting delays for some candidates.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) gained 37 seats across ten states due largely from cross-voting and opposition no-shows. While NDA candidates won two Rajya Sabha seats each, independent supporters also secured victories alongside the party's wins in Odisha; Bihar saw all five contested seats awarded to Nitish Kumar after four lawmakers abstained or did not vote for him as chief minister of Haryana where counting was still ongoing when reported
The opposition Grand Alliance lost its sole Rajya Sabha seat in Bihar due to four legislator absences while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept all five seats with full MLA participation. In Odisha, cross-voting by BJD and Congress legislators resulted in a victory for BJP-backed independent Dilip Ray over an alliance of those two parties' joint candidate Datteswar Hota.