PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad and the party’s national working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Sunday were authorised to make final decisions on the selection of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Voting will be held for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar. With NDA having 202 MLAs, both BJP and JD(U) will easily win two Rajya Sabha seats each, as the RJD is eyeing the fifth seat.
A decision to that effect was taken at the RJD’s parliamentary board meeting at the official residence of Tejashwi in Patna. Several senior leaders participated in the meeting. Lalu joined the meeting through video conferencing from New Delhi.
There is speculation in a section of the media that Tejashwi himself might contest the election from Bihar. The name of Hena Shahab, wife of former RJD MP and Siwan strongman, late Mohammad Shahabuddin, is also doing the rounds.
The last date for filing nominations for the five vacant seats in Bihar is March 5, while the elections, if necessary, will be held on March 16.