Patna, March 3 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, naming Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar Ram for two seats.

Nitin Nabin, who is currently an MLA from the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Patna district, was appointed a minister after the NDA formed the government following the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

However, he later resigned from the ministerial post after being appointed as the BJPâ??s national president.

Shivesh Kumar previously contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Sasaram (SC-reserved) constituency but lost to Congress candidate Manoj Kumar Ram by 19,157 votes.

His nomination to the Rajya Sabha is being seen as a strategic move by the party.

With the BJP announcing its nominees, attention has now shifted to the Janata Dal (United) list.

As part of the NDA arrangement, JD(U) is expected to get two of the four NDA-backed seats.

Among the names doing the rounds are Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur and Nishant Kumar, son of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

There had been intense speculation that Bhojpuri film star Pawan Singh would be nominated by the BJP for the Rajya Sabha.

However, the partyâ??s announcement has put all such speculation to rest.

Elections are scheduled on March 16 for five vacant Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar, with nominations to be filed by March 5.

The outgoing members include Ramnath Thakur (JDU), Harivansh Narayan Singh (JDU), Upendra Kushwaha (RLM), Prem Chand Gupta (RJD), and Amarendra Dhari Singh (RJD).

According to the current Assembly strength, NDA has 202 MLAs and winning one Rajya Sabha seat requires 41 votes. To win all five seats, 205 MLAs would be required.

The ruling NDA alliance is considered certain to win four of the five seats based on current numbers, while the fifth seat could witness a contest, as neither the NDA nor the opposition Grand Alliance has a clear majority for it.

By announcing candidates for its share of seats, the BJP has signalled its strategy of fielding leaders who can strongly represent Biharâ??s interests at the national level.

The development has intensified political discussions across the state as parties finalise their strategies for the upcoming election.

/IANS