Patna, March 11 The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which claimed it would win all five Rajya Sabha seats, may face a challenge after a crucial meeting between Akhtarul Iman and Tejashwi Yadav in Patna.
The meeting was held at Tejashwi Yadav’s residence on Wednesday afternoon.
Breaking his silence after the closed-door discussions, Tejashwi Yadav said the meeting was positive.
He also revealed that he had received an invitation to an Iftar gathering on March 15.
“The invitation is accepted, and we will win the election,” Yadav said.
After the meeting, Iman also said the discussions were positive and that cooperation between the two parties would be in Bihar's interest.
When asked about supporting the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections, he said that the talks had been encouraging and that a final decision would be taken after consulting AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
The NDA has fielded candidates for all five seats.
These include Nitish Kumar (JDU), Ram Nath Thakur (JDU), Nitin Nabin (BJP), Shivesh Kumar (BJP), and Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
Meanwhile, the opposition led by Tejashwi Yadav has fielded senior RJD leader A. D. Singh as its candidate.
The result of the Rajya Sabha election will depend on the strength of parties in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
A candidate requires the support of 41 MLAs to secure victory.
The NDA has enough numbers to win four seats, but is said to be short by about three MLAs for the fifth seat.
The opposition bloc currently has 35 MLAs, including 25 from RJD, 6 from the Indian National Congress, 3 from Left parties, and 1 from the Indian Peoples Party.
If AIMIM’s five MLAs and one MLA from the Bahujan Samaj Party extend support to the opposition, the total could reach the required 41 votes.
Political observers believe that such support would make the contest for the fifth Rajya Sabha seat highly competitive and significantly improve the chances of RJD candidate A.D. Singh's victory.
The final outcome will become clear after voting on March 16, but the meeting between Akhtarul Iman and Tejashwi Yadav has already added a new twist to the political battle for the Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar.
--IANS
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