EC replaces Mamata’s top officers — CS to DGP

Setback for Oppn amid no-shows, cross-voting in Bihar and Odisha

- MANOJ C G & SANTOSH SINGH

THE KEENLY WATCHED elections on Monday for 11 vacant Rajya Sabha seats — five in Bihar, four in Odisha and two in Haryana—dealt a setback to the Opposition, which failed to keep its flock together in two states.

Abstention and cross-voting helped the BJP secure one additional seat each from Bihar and Odisha despite being short of numbers. The Opposition later accused the BJP of indulging in "horse trading".

In Haryana, the counting of votes was put on hold after both the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress lodged complaints alleging violation of vote secrecy.

The results in Bihar were particularly embarrassing for the Mahagathbandhan. Six candidates were in the fray for five seats: five from the NDA and one from the Mahagathbandhan. The NDA fielded Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, JD(U) MP and Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and BJP's Shivesh Kumar.

The arithmetic was straightforward: a candidate required the support of at least 41 MLAs to win a Rajya Sabha seat.

The NDA has 202 MLAs in the 243-member Assembly, leaving it three votes short of securing a fifth seat. The Mahagathbandhan has 35 MLAs — RJD (25), Congress (6), Left parties (3) and one MLA from the Indian Inclusive Party — meaning its candidate, Amarendra Dhari Singh, was short of six votes.