Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Files Nomination Papers For Rajya Sabha Elections
Of all candidates, the CM was the first to present his nomination papers to Legislative Assembly secretary Kyati Singh after signing at the required places.
By Dev Raj
Published : March 5, 2026 at 2:24 PM IST
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and four other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin, filed their nomination papers on Thursday for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Union minister and JDU leader Ram Nath Thakur, BJP’s Shivesh Kumar, as well as Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, were among the others who filed the nomination papers.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Patna and met Nitin before moving to Nitish’s official residence, 1, Aney Marg, to meet him on a day it became clear that he would soon quit the chief minister’s post.
राज्य सभा के लिए अपना नामांकन पत्र दाखिल किया। pic.twitter.com/R9mDOHUfYr
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) March 5, 2026
After a brief discussion, Amit accompanied Nitish to the Bihar Legislative Assembly, where the nomination papers were being filed for the Rajya Sabha polls. Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary was also present with them.
Of all the candidates, the chief minister was the first one to present his nomination papers to Legislative Assembly secretary Kyati Singh after signing at the required places. He also presented an affidavit about his movable and immovable property, and criminal cases, if any, along with the papers.
The polls for the five seats of the Upper House of the Parliament are scheduled on March 16. Altogether, 41 first-preference votes of the MLAs are needed to win each of them.
The NDA is expected to win four of them easily as it has 202 MLAs in the 243-member Assembly. It will need three more votes, which are expected to come from the Opposition, which has a total of 41 MLAs.
आज माननीय केंद्रीय गृह एवं सहकारिता मंत्री श्री अमित शाह जी के साथ पटना में शिष्टाचार मुलाकात की। pic.twitter.com/TX1otMm9N1
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) March 5, 2026
The RJD, which is the largest opposition party with 25 MLAs, has fielded its incumbent Rajya Sabha member Amarendra Dhari Singh, who is an entrepreneur with interests in the fertiliser business.
The tenure of those who are elected to the Rajya Sabha will begin from April 9, when the seats presently going to polls will fall vacant.
Sources in the NDA asserted that Nitish will continue as the chief minister for the time being. His son, Nishant Kumar, will join the JDU and will be guided in various political affairs during the transition period. He (Nishant) is expected to be sworn in as a deputy chief minister after Nitish moves to the Centre.
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