Patna: Nomination papers of CM Nitish Kumar, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, and four other candidates were found valid on Friday during scrutiny for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections, to be held on March 16.“Nomination papers of all six candidates were found valid during scrutiny,” an official of the state assembly told TOI on Friday.Altogether, six candidates filed nomination papers on Thursday for the Rajya Sabha polls against five vacancies from Bihar. Of the total six candidates, five are from the ruling NDA, while one is from the opposition RJD.Besides Nitish and Nitin, other NDA candidates are Union minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who aims for a hat-trick in the Upper House of Parliament; the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, who seeks a second consecutive term; and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar, a former MLA who hopes to make his debut in the Rajya Sabha.Nomination papers were also filed by RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh, a sitting member of the Rajya Sabha and a businessman-turned-politician.“March 9 is the last date for the withdrawal of candidature. If any candidate does not withdraw his candidature, there would be voting on March 16, as a total of six candidates are in the fray for five seats in the Rajya Sabha from Bihar,” the official said.In recent years, every biennial election and byelection for the Rajya Sabha in Bihar was decided unopposed, as the number of candidates fielded by political parties typically matched the number of available vacancies, preventing a contest.
