Rajya Sabha Election 2026 LIVE: NDA sweeps polls, bags 8 seats; Nitish Kumar wins; counting for 2 Haryana seats on hold

The NDA has so far won eight of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats polling for which were held on Monday, March 16. The Rajya Sabha Election 2026 took place on Monday, March 16. Voting in the the biennial elections to fill 11 vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha ended at 4 pm and counting of votes began at 5 pm.

Rajya Sabha Election 2026 Results LIVE:

The NDA won all five seats in Bihar. In elections for four seats in Odisha, the BJP won three seats amid cross-voting. In Haryana, which has seen cross-voting in the past too, the counting of votes for elections to two Rajya Sabha seats has been put on hold following the BJP and Congress members filing complaints alleging violation of vote secrecy.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and three other NDA candidates won the Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, an official said Monday evening.

Khyati Singh, the Secretary of Vidhan Sabha, told PTI that Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), BJP leader Shivesh Kumar and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha also emerged victorious, said

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10:30 pm: Counting for 2 Haryana seats on hold

The ruling NDA alliance won eight seats, including one Independent backed by it, and the BJD bagged one seat in results announced on Monday night, while counting on two seats in Haryana has been put on hold amid allegations of irregularities. A total of 14 candidates were in the fray.

10 pm: BJP wins two Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha; BJD and Independent secure one each

The ruling BJP on Monday won two of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha, while the opposition BJD and a saffron party-backed Independent candidate bagged one seat each in the biennial polls held here, officials said.

9:35 pm: BJP president Nitin Nabin, CM Nitish Kumar, 3 other NDA candidates win in Bihar

BJP president Nitin Nabin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and three other NDA candidates on Monday won the Rajya Sabha elections in the state, an official told PTI.

Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), BJP leader Shivesh Kumar and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha also emerged victorious, said Khyati Singh, the Secretary of Vidhan Sabha, who is also the Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha polls.

8:30 pm: Scuffle between BJD, BJP MLAs during voting in Odisha

A scuffle broke out between Biju Janata Dal MLAs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha amid the voting for Rajya Sabha polls, ANI reported. The BJD has accused BJP of indulging "in horse-trading" in the Rajya Sabha polls.

"BJP indulged in horse trading and bought some BJD MLAs to get their votes. When BJD MLAs opposed them, they countered us and attacked our people. This was unconstitutional. The law and order situation in the state is not right. When elected representatives are not safe, then how can common citizens remain safe? We did not attack anyon

7: 10 pm: ‘BJP indulged in horse trading’

BJD MLA Sarada Prasanna Jena says," BJP indulged in horse trading and bought some BJD MLAs to get their votes. When BJD MLAs opposed them, they countered us and attacked our people. This was unconstitutional. The law and order situation in the state is not right. When elected representatives are not safe, then how can common citizens remain safe? We did not attack anyone. BJP MLAs attacked BJD MLAs. We condemn this."

7 pm: JD(U) MLA, Binay Kumar Choudhary says, "Four MLAs (of the opposition) were not present... They (the opposition) will tell why they were absent. Our victory is decided..."

6:58 pm: Voting for 4 Odisha Rajya Sabha seats ends

The voting for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha on Monday ended at 6 pm, as at least five MLAs of the opposition BJD and Congress reportedly voted in favour of BJP-supported Independent nominee Dilip Ray, PTI reported.

6:54 pm: Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij arrives in a wheelchair to cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha elections at the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, in Chandigarh, Monday, March 16, 2026

6:53 pm: Haryana minister says cross-voting may have happened in Congress

Haryana Minister Gaurav Gautam says, “There will be a one-sided win for Sanjay Bhatia, and Satish Nandal is also winning… Cross-voting may have happened in Congress, you should inquire.”

6:50 pm: Haryana Minister Krishan Bedi says, “Sanjay Bhatia will absolutely win… We have raised objections against two votes."

6:20 pm: BJD MLA heckled by outsiders in Odisha

A BJD MLA, Naba Kishor Mallick was allegedly attacked and heckled by outsiders when he went to cast his vote for the RS polls. "An assault on an elected representative is an assault on the democratic values. We demand strict and immediate action against those responsible and urge the authorities to ensure the safety, dignity, and security of all elected members," the BJD was quoted by PTI as saying.

6:15 pm: NDA full turnout, four opposition MLAs absent

Sources in the NDA told PTI that "all 202 MLAs" belonging to the ruling NDA alliance in Bihar had taken part in the polling. These included Kumar's JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union minister Chirag Paswan, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha of Upendra Kushwaha, who is one of the five candidates.

On the other hand, the opposition Mahagathbandhan appeared to falter, with three MLAs of the Congress and one of the RJD remaining absent from the polling on a day when even parties not aligned with the coalition, like AIMIM and BSP, were present.

6:12 pm: 5 BJD, Congress MLAs vote in favour of BJP-backed Independent in Odisha

At least five MLAs of the Opposition BJD and Congress on Monday reportedly voted in favour of the BJP-supported Independent nominee Dilip Ray in the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, for which voting is underway, news agency PTI reported.

6 pm: On Rajya Sabha elections, JD(U) MLA, Binay Kumar Choudhary says, "4 MLAs (of the opposition) were not present... They (the opposition) will tell why they were absent. Our victory is decided..."

5 pm: Counting of votes begin

1:00 pm: Bihar's Samrat Choudhary hopes for NDA's victory in all 5 Bihar seats

On Rajya Sabha elections, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary says, "The NDA is completely united. The NDA members are determined to ensure the victory of all five of their candidates... All our 5 candidates will win the election... Those who are voting for us are doing well for the progress of Bihar."

11 am: On the Rajya Sabha elections, Bihar RJD MLA Alok Kumar Mehta says, "All the members of our team are together. Let them say whatever they want, when the votes are cast, you will see the result. Rumors have no significance in this election..."

Key battlegrounds

In Bihar, the NDA is confident of sweeping the polls in all five seats, with three of its key leaders — Nitish Kumar of the JD(U), Nitin Nabin of the BJP, and Upendra Kushwaha of the RLM — in the fray. The two other candidates in Bihar are Union minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who is looking for a hattrick, and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar.

Odisha, meanwhile, is seeing a high-stakes political drama play out over the polls, amid fears of cross-voting. Both the Congress and the BJP have moved several MLAs to resorts in Bengaluru and Paradip respectively, with the Congress even claiming that four now-arrested men attempted to bribe its MLAs in Bengaluru. BJD chief Naveen Patnaik also met MLAs for three consecutive days to appeal them to desist from cross-voting.

Haryana too is seeing some drama over fears of cross-voting, with Congress initially shifting its MLAs to resorts in Kufri near Shimla, where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met them for lunch. Later in the day, the MLAs were shifted to Kasauli, about 60 km from Chandigarh, amid heavy security. The Haryana Congress too has accused the ruling BJP of attempting to bribe its MLAs, but the saffron party has denied the claims.

Uncontested victories

Of the 26 uncontested victories in the Rajya Sabha polls, the BJP secured seven wins, Congress five, the Trinamool Congress four, the DMK three, and the Shiv Sena, RPI(A), NCP, NCP(SP), AIADMK, PMK, and UPPL one each.

Notable leaders who were elected or re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament include NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Tiruchi Siva, and Vinod Tawade.

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