US President Donald Trump has put direct pressure on China in an interview given to the Financial Times (FT). He said that Beijing should work with America to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open. Trump said that China gets 90% of its oil from this important waterway, so it is very important for them too.
What did Trump say while putting pressure on China for help?
Trump told the FT, ‘I think China should also help because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits. Countries that take advantage of this route should ensure that nothing goes wrong there. Trump also said that if China does not help, he can postpone the planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This summit is to be held at the end of this month.
Regarding specific help, Trump said that minesweepers are needed and people who can destroy some bad actors on Iranian noise. Trump also added that America is hitting Iran very hard, now they only have the strength left to face a little trouble.
This statement has come at a time when Iran has almost closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. Oil prices have already reached $102 to $106 per barrel. If the situation does not improve then there is a possibility of it going up to $200 per barrel.
America attacks Iran’s oil export hub
America has launched major attacks on Kharg Island, 90% of Iran’s oil export hub, but Iran is still retaliating. Like hypersonic missile attack on Al-Dhafra base of UAE. Trump has already appealed to many countries like UK, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships, but most of the countries have refused help. Australia flatly refused, UK also talked about limited help.
Trump gave open warning to NATO
Trump also gave a strong warning to NATO. In an FT interview, he said that if NATO’s allies do not help America in the matter of Iran and especially in opening the Strait of Hormuz, then NATO will have a ‘very bad future’. Trump said, ‘If there is no response or a negative response, it will be very bad for the future of NATO.’ He cited NATO’s help in Ukraine and said that America supported Ukraine against Russia, now it is their turn to help.
Trump says that America needs very little oil (only 1%), but countries like China, Japan, South Korea are more dependent. That’s why it’s a ‘small task’, just keeping the straight open. However, even after weakening Iran’s military, no major response is being received.
Team USA is headed back to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final, as they toppled the Dominican Republic, 2-1, in a thriller in Miami on Sunday night.
The U.S., who fell to Japan in the WBC final in 2023, will look for redemption against either Venezuela or Italy, who play their semifinal matchup on Monday night.
The hype and hysteria coming into this contest between two world baseball powerhouses lived up to it all despite what the box score said. Both teams came in clutch during key moments, while matching the raucous energy of the crowd.
Roman Anthony of Team United States runs around the bases after hitting a solo home run against Team Dominican Republic during the fourth inning at loanDepot park on March 15, 2026 in Miami, Florida.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
Of course, the Dominican Republic dugout and faithful went ballistic when Junior Caminero, the 22-year-old Tampa Bay Rays rising star, belted a hanging breaking ball from Skenes in the bottom of the second inning with two strikes. The ball was pelted to left field at over 400 feet, and their patented celebration ensued.
The D.R. got the first strike off Skenes, who had been looking forward to this start against a lineup littered with some of the best baseball players in MLB. But two innings later, it was Team USA’s own young stars who turned the game around in their favor.
Gunnar Henderson, who manager Mark DeRosa chose to play at third base, his secondary position as a shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, over Alex Bregman, one of the best defensive players at the hot corner in MLB, due to how well he hit Luis Severino. The veteran right-hander was amped for his start for the D.R., and his emotion showed it.
However, DeRosa’s decision came down to how much success Henderson had against Severino. The decision paid off, as Henderson hit a moon shot over the right-center field fence to tie the game at one apiece.
Severino was pulled after one more batter for Gregory Soto, who was facing Boston Red Sox phenom Roman Anthony, the 21-year-old who has had a great first appearance in the WBC. After running the count full, Anthony took advantage of a fastball right down the middle, launching it over the center field wall to take a 2-1 lead.
Paul Skenes of Team United States reacts after giving up a home run to Junior Caminero #13 (not pictured) of Team Dominican Republic during the second inning at loanDepot park on March 15, 2026 in Miami, Florida.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
The entire American dugout was on the field, as Anthony motioned across his chest, showing off his pride as he celebrated with teammates.
It was just what Team USA needed in the top of the fourth inning, especially after having runners at second and third with one out in the previous frame and not being able to get runs across. Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber both struck out to end the inning, which fired up Severino who screamed toward Team USA’s dugout.
But Judge clearly let that go from his head, as he had a crucial defensive play in the bottom of the third inning when he gunned down Fernando Tatis Jr. trying to go from first base to third. Tatis, who is a fast runner, was out by a mile, with Judge proving his elbow, which caused issues in 2025, is more than fine heading into the 2026 season.
The Dominicans ultimately chased Skenes from the game after 4.1 innings, as his final line read six hits, one earned run on the Caminero homer and two strikeouts. Severino lasted 3.1 innings, giving up five hits while striking out six Team USA hitters in an impressive outing that saw triple-digit fastballs on the radar gun.
Luis Severino of Team Dominican Republic reacts after striking out Kyle Schwarber #12 (not pictured) of Team United States to end the third inning at loanDepot park on March 15, 2026 in Miami, Florida.(Al Bello/Getty Images)
The U.S. knew a 2-1 lead was not enough, but as the Dominican bullpen continued to stifle their bats, and Julio Rodriguez appeared to rob a home run from Judge, they needed their own relievers to come through. After Tyler Rogers and Griffin Jax did their jobs, David Bednar found himself in some trouble with runners on second and third with one out – the same situation Judge and Schwarber found themselves in – in the bottom of the seventh.
But Bednar, who escaped a similar situation against Canada in the quarterfinals, struck out Tatis and Ketel Marte to get out of the jam and keep the score the same.
Garrett Whitlock was solid in the eighth inning to keep the one-run lead alive, which led for the easiest decision for DeRosa on the night: Mason Miller to pitch the ninth.
The San Diego Padres All-Star closer got a strikeout to start the inning, but things got interesting when he walked Rodriguez and Will Smith couldn’t handle a pitch from Miller that allowed a free pass to second base.
Gunnar Henderson of Team USA rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning of the 2026 World Baseball Classic WBC game presented by Capital One between Team USA and Team Dominican Republic at loanDepot park on Sunday, March 15, 2026 in Miami, Florida.(Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos)
Oneil Cruz moved Rodriguez to third on a groundnut to Bobby Witt Jr., leaving Geraldo Perdomo as the D.R.’s last hope. He had a clutch at-bat earlier in the game, one that could’ve tied it up if Wells read the line drive to center field better from second base.
But Miller got Perdomo looking on a 3-2 slider at the bottom of the zone to secure Team USA’s spot in the WBC final.
6. LPG and PNG – From where and how much do we import both types of gas?
In case of both LPG and PNG (Natural Gas), India is highly dependent on imports for its needs. Data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) and other trade databases reveal the reality of this dependency and supply chain.
The demand for LPG in India has increased very rapidly in the last decade. The main reason for this has been the government’s successful expansion of ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ (PMUY) to provide clean cooking fuel in rural India. However, domestic production has not increased proportionately to meet this huge demand.
According to PPAC data for the first half of financial year 2025-26, India produced a total of 6,219 TMT of LPG, while consumption in the same period was recorded at 16,200 TMT. To bridge this huge gap, India had to import 10,731 TMT of LPG, which clearly shows that India imports 62 percent of its total LPG demand from abroad. In the year 2024, India was to become the world’s 5th largest importer by spending approximately $30.7 billion on importing petroleum gas. India’s LPG import supply chain is completely focused on West Asia. The table below shows the top petroleum gas suppliers in India.
Source: OEC World 2024 / PPAC
natural gas
India, on the other hand, meets about 50 percent of its natural gas demand from domestic production, while the remaining 50 percent is met through imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). According to 2023 data, India is the world’s fourth largest LNG importer, consuming 2.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. This volume of LNG imports is continuously increasing. Cumulative imports for the current financial year up to December 2024 were recorded at 28,586 MMSCM, showing a strong growth of 24.1 per cent over the same period last year. India’s position on the LNG import front is more secure than that of LPG as its sources are much more geographically diverse.
Source: WITS World Bank Trade Flows 2024
7. Which of the two fuels is safer from safety point of view?
In terms of safety, PNG is unquestionably a safer option than LPG. LPG is heavier than air; In case of leakage, it accumulates near the floor, posing a high risk of explosion. At the same time, methane, the main component of PNG, is lighter than air, which in case of leakage quickly rises up and evaporates into the atmosphere. Furthermore, LPG is stored at an extremely high pressure of eight bars in the cylinder, while PNG is distributed in domestic pipelines at a very low pressure of only 21 millibars.
8. Is using PNG cheaper than LPG?
Yes, from a consumer perspective, adopting PNG is more economically beneficial. According to industry estimates, PNG consumers pay about Rs 300 to Rs 400 less per month than LPG consumers for the same amount of cooking. The main reason for this is that PNG does not include the cost of bottling, commission of gas agencies and transportation of heavy cylinders by trucks. Also, PNG is meter-based, where the consumer pays only for the gas used.
9. What benefits will the expansion of the PNG network bring to logistics and the environment?
Traditional LPG distribution involves moving millions of heavy cylinders through trucks, which is a nightmare from a logistics point of view. PNG eliminates this entire logistics hurdle as the fuel flows directly to the kitchen 24/7 through underground pipelines. On the environmental front too, the combustion of PNG releases only 53.06 kg of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) per million Btu. Additionally, due to the high energy efficiency of the pipeline transmission network, its ‘well-to-burner’ carbon footprint is much lower than that of sea and road transportation of LPG.
10. What is PNGRB’s plan for India’s long-term energy security?
According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the government aims to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix from 6.4 percent by 2022 to 15 percent by 2030. City gas distribution (CGD) consumption is projected to increase by 2.5 to 3.5 times by 2030. For this, about 33,500 km of Natural Gas Pipeline (NGPL) network has been authorized to connect the entire country, out of which about 25,000 km has started operating. Since natural gas (LNG) is imported from diverse countries like the US, Australia and Africa, it will not allow India to become geopolitically hostage to any one geographical point like LPG.
Amidst the increasing heat in Uttarakhand, the mood of the weather suddenly changed on Sunday. Most parts of the state remained cloudy since morning and light to moderate rain was recorded at many places. Due to this change in the weather, a drop in temperature has been recorded and people have got some relief. Due to snowfall in the high altitude mountainous areas, the effect of cold has once again increased.
Fresh snowfall occurred in high altitude areas including Badrinath Dham and Kedarnath Dham on Sunday morning. Apart from this, snowfall also occurred in high Himalayan areas like Hemkund Sahib and Valley of Flowers. Due to snowfall, the cold has increased significantly in these areas and the temperature has reached below zero. Despite the difficult weather conditions, the police and ITBP personnel deployed in Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham are performing their duty with full alertness.
People got relief from heat after rain
On the other hand, rain has made the weather pleasant in the plains and low-lying areas. A drop in temperature has been recorded due to rain in many districts of the state including Dehradun and Haridwar. It also rained in many areas of Chamoli district including Jyotirmath, Gopeshwar, Pipalkoti, Pokhri, due to which the atmosphere has become cooler. This rain has also brought relief to the farmers who have been waiting for rain for a long time, because it will provide moisture to the crops.
Yellow alert of rain in these districts even today
Today also on March 16, the Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert regarding strong winds in some parts of Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital and Champawat districts. There is also a possibility of heavy rain with thunder, lightning and hailstorm at some places in the hilly areas. Meteorologists say that in the coming four to five days, the maximum temperature of the state may see a drop of three to five degrees Celsius.
Due to this rain, the forest fires have also been controlled to a great extent. Due to the rain in the state on Sunday, forest fires at about 23 places have been extinguished. In fact, due to lack of sufficient rain and snowfall in winter this year, the forests had become very dry, due to which incidents of forest fire started appearing from November itself. Since the fire season started on February 15, 84 incidents of forest fire have been recorded.
Forest fire brought under control due to rain
According to Chief Forest Conservator Forest Fire Control Sushant Patnaik, out of the 23 places where fire alert was issued, there is no active fire reported at any place after the rains. Due to rain, moisture will increase in the forests, which is expected to reduce the incidents of forest fire in the coming days.
The atmosphere in Doon Valley also became clear after light to moderate rain on Sunday. People troubled by the increasing heat and humidity for the last few days have got relief. due to cold winds after rain Season It became pleasant and the air quality of the city also improved. On Sunday, Dehradun’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 87, which shows a better situation than the previous days.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s counter-culture caper One Battle After Another has won the Oscars war, taking home six awards after a hotly contested season.
The big-budget comedy thriller, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, was named best picture and also won director, supporting actor for Sean Penn, adapted screenplay, editing and the first ever Oscar for casting, a category long-petitioned for within the industry.
“I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we left in this world we’re handing off to them,” Anderson said in his first acceptance speech of the night. He also said he hoped a younger generation would help bring back “common sense and decency” to society.
Previously nominated for films including Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread, tonight marks Anderson’s first ever Oscar wins.
Penn beat out his co-star Benicio del Toro for his third Oscar win but wasn’t in attendance to accept his award. “Sean Penn couldn’t be here tonight or didn’t want to,” presenter Kieran Culkin joked.
The season had became a two-horse race between One Battle After Another and Sinners, which entered the night as the most-nominated film ever with a record 16 nominations.
Michael B Jordan Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
The period vampire blockbuster won four awards: actor for Michael B Jordan, original screenplay, original score and cinematography, which makes Autumn Durald Arkapaw the first ever female winner and first Black winner of the award.
Jordan won his first Oscar for his lead performance in the film, beating Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. “I stand here because of the people who came before me,” he said before listing Black Oscar winners in the past. He has become the sixth Black winner in this category.
Coogler is only the second Black winner of the original screenplay Oscar, following in the footsteps of Jordan Peele, who won for Get Out. The 39-year-old made his cast stand up telling them “you all are winners in my book” and apologised to his children “for all the time away”.
Jessie Buckley Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Jessie Buckley became the first ever Irish winner of the best actress Oscar for her performance in Chloé Zhao’s Shakespeare drama Hamnet. The 36-year-old was previously nominated for her role in The Lost Daughter.
She devoted the award to “the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart” and called it “the greatest honour”.
Amy Madigan was named best supporting actress for her villainous role in hit horror Weapons, beating Teyana Taylor and Wunmi Mosaku. It was the first time the award was won by an actor who was the only nominee from their film since Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The 75-year-old actor, who was previously nominated in 1986, set a new record for the longest gap between nominations before a win.
Joachim Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value was named best international feature film, the first time that Norway has won in this category. It beat out The Secret Agent, It Was Just an Accident and The Voice of Hind Rijab. “I’m just a film nerd from Norway,” Trier said on stage. At the end of his speech, he paraphrased James Baldwin, saying: “all adults are responsible for all children and lets not vote for politicians who don’t take this seriously into account”.
The award was co-presented by Javier Bardem who said “no to war and free Palestine” on stage, while wearing prominent badges expressing the same messaging.
The Oscar for best documentary went to Mr Nobody Against Putin which tells of a teacher fighting against oppressive rules being introduced in his Russian school, a film which co-director David Borenstein said is “about how you lose your country”. He added: “When a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we could produce it and consume it, we all face a moral choice, but luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.”
KPop: Demon Hunters, Netflix’s most watched film ever, won two Oscars for animated feature and original song. This week saw official confirmation that a sequel was on the way. “For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” co-director Maggie Kang said before devoting the win to Korea and “for Koreans everywhere”. Smash hit Golden made history as the first k-pop song to win an Oscar.
Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix take on Frankenstein also won three awards for production design, costume design and makeup and hairstyling. The Oscar for visual effects went to Avatar: Fire and Ash while F1 took home the award for sound.
There was also an unusual tie in the category for live action short, only the seventh time in Oscars history this has happened. The last time was in 2012 for sound editing.
It marks a major night for Warner Bros with the studio taking home 11 awards and the first best picture win since Argo in 2013. The epic night for the studio arrives as Paramount prepares to merge after a heated battle for ownership.
Conan O’Brien Photograph: Frank Micelotta/Disney/Getty Images
Conan O’Brien returned as host for the second year in a row and kicked off the show with a pre-recorded bit dressed as Madigan’s character in Weapons, racing through scenes from the year’s big films. He joked that he will be “the last human host” of the Oscars (while hosting the animated short award, Will Arnett also made an impassioned plea against the use of AI which received roaring applause).
He said anyone offended by politics during the ceremony should watch the “alternate Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock”, poked fun at Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos being there for “his first time in a theatre”, referenced the lack of British lead acting contenders by saying a spokesperson said “well at least we arrest our paedophiles” and quipped about Amazon’s lack of nominations by asking “why isn’t the website I buy toilet paper from winning more Oscars?”.
O’Brien also spoke about the “very chaotic frightening times” we’re in and how the awards are “particularly resonant” given the many international nominees. “Let us celebrate not because we think all is well but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead,” he added.
Later in the night he also joked that he was coming live from the “has a small penis theatre” before joking “let’s see him put his name in front of that”. When hosting the two documentary Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel also took aim at Amazon’s Melania doc (“Oh mad is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this”) and the ongoing right-wing takeover of media (“As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don’t support free speech. I’m not at liberty to say which. Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS”).
Billy Crystal Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
The night also saw a special tribute to the late Rob Reiner led by long-time friend and collaborator Billy Crystal. He said his films will “last for lifetimes” and the loss of Rob and wife Michelle is “immeasurable”. He was then joined by other stars from his films including Meg Ryan, Carol Kane, Demi Moore and Annette Bening.
Rachel McAdams also remembered fellow Canadian Catherine O’Hara (“made us laugh until we cried”) and her Morning Glory co-star Diane Keaton (“luminous on screen and indelible in life”) both of whom died in the last year.
Barbra Streisand followed with a tribute to the late Robert Redford, an “intellectual cowboy” who had “real backbone on and off the screen”. She also sang a section of The Way We Were, the title track from their much-loved romantic drama.
Nominated films which came away empty-handed tonight included Bugonia, Train Dreams, It Was Just an Accident and The Secret Agent.
Last year’s Oscars were led by major wins for Sean Baker’s low-budget comedy drama Anora which was named best picture and picked up four other awards.
{“_id”:”69b771e3539b21d6d402bddc”,”slug”:”nitin-nabin-upendra-kushwaha-nitish-kumar-bihar-rajya-sabha-election-2026-live-updates-rjd-nda-aimim-bjp-jdu-2026-03-16″,”type”:”live”,”status”:”publish”,”title_hn”:”Rajya Sabha Election LIVE: Rajya Sabha in Bihar Voting on five seats today, Nitish also in the fray; who with whom?”,”category”:{“title”:”City & states”,”title_hn”:”city-and-states”}}
News Desk, Amar Ujala, Patna
Published by: Aditya Anand
Updated Mon, 16 Mar 2026 08:28 AM IST
special things
Election 2026: The first major election riot in the new year is taking place in Bihar today. Voting is on for five Rajya Sabha seats. Along with fielding a candidate on one seat, the Grand Alliance has made the competition tough by keeping the MLAs in hotels.
Rajya Sabha elections 2026.
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Trending Videos
live update
08:13 AM, 16-Mar-2026
Rajya Sabha Election LIVE: Voting on five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar today, Nitish also in the fray; Who with whom?
Voting for all five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar will begin at 9 am today. Voting will start at 4 pm. Counting of votes will take place from 5 pm onwards. The election results will come today itself. Five candidates (Nitin Kumar, Nitin Naveen, Upendra Kushwaha, Ramnath Thakur and Shivesh Kumar) are in the fray from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Whereas the Grand Alliance has fielded Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Amarendra Dhari Singh on one seat. With the arrival of the sixth candidate the situation of voting became clear. The party and the opposition are claiming victory on the fifth seat. A day ago, AIMIM talked about supporting the Grand Alliance. The Grand Alliance has All the MLAs have been kept in a big hotel in Patna. Here, NDA MLAs attended the meeting and banquet at the house of Minister Vijay Chaudhary on Sunday evening. Here all the information related to voting was again given to the MLAs. CM Nitish Kumar was also in this meeting.
Catch missed, dispute over wide and wicket falling in the last ball, drama in the last over.
Last Updated:
Pakistan vs Bangladesh highlights: After a shameful performance in the ICC T20 World Cup, Pakistan team has faced defeat in the ODI series against Bangladesh. In the last match of the three-match series, the team needed 14 runs in the last over to win. Shaheen Afridi could score only 2 runs.
Bangladesh won the ODI series by defeating Pakistan
New Delhi. The bad phase of Pakistan cricket team is not showing any end. After a shameful farewell in the ICC T20 World Cup, the team has now faced defeat in the ODI series against Bangladesh after 15 years. The young Pakistani team has lost by 11 runs in the deciding match of the three-match ODI series in Bangladesh. Even Salman Ali Aga’s brilliant century could not help Pakistan win. Bangladesh won the series 2-1.
Agha scored 106 runs in 98 balls, but as soon as he was out in the 48th over, the entire Pakistan team was reduced to 279 runs on Sunday. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi was stumped on the last ball and Pakistan’s hopes of victory were ended. Bangladesh opener Tanjid Hasan scored the first century (107 runs) of his ODI career and took the team to 290 runs for 5 wickets.
Post-Match Show: Straight drive | Mazhar Uddin Omi with Ramiz Raja & Shamim Chowdhury
Dutch-Bangla Bank Bangladesh 🆚Pakistan ODI Series 2026! 🏏🔥
Strait of Hormuz: The increasing conflict between America and Iran has increased the serious threat to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Due to the attacks by Iran, global oil supply has been affected, due to which energy prices have seen a rise.
The IRGC Navy Chief said, “You first tested Iran through the Strait of Hormuz. If smart control of the Strait becomes the new oil price benchmark for you, then the attack on Kharg Island will create an entirely new and serious equation for energy pricing and distribution.”
Trump promised to free the Strait of Hormuz
Amid threats from Iran, US President Donald Trump has said that the Strait of Hormuz will be freed for shipping at any cost. He appealed to China, France, Britain, Japan and South Korea to send their warships to protect this corridor. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow sea route located between Iran, Oman and the UAE, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil is exported. Iran’s largest oil terminal Kharg Island is also present near this area.
Iran’s stance
from iran Foreign Minister Abdullah Araghchi It has said that the strategically important Strait of Hormuz is open to international shipping, but ships belonging to the United States and Israel are not allowed to pass through this route. Araghchi’s statements come at a time when tension has increased due to recent military developments in the region. In an interview given to American cable news channel, Araghchi said that the sea route has not been completely closed. Despite this, hundreds of ships, including many Indian ships, are stuck in this narrow sea route between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Footage shows a fire burning near Dubai International Airport after a drone ignited a fuel tank, according to authorities in the UAE. Flights have been suspended. Civil defence crews say the blaze is under control.
Voting for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar will be held on Monday (March 16). Voting for Rajya Sabha will start from 9 am to 5 pm. After the end of voting, counting of votes will be done in the evening and the results will be declared by late evening.
Voting will be conducted at the polling booth set up in the Bihar Assembly, where all the MLAs will exercise their franchise. A total of six candidates are in the fray for five Rajya Sabha seats. To win a Rajya Sabha seat, votes of 41 MLAs are required. NDA has a total of 202 MLAs. NDA has 38 votes for the fifth seat and will need three more votes to win.
Nitish Kumar and BJP President are also contesting elections
Talking about NDA, Nitish Kumar and Ramnath Thakur are JDU candidates, National President Nitin Naveen and Shivesh Ram are BJP candidates, Upendra Kushwaha is the candidate from Rashtriya Lok Morcha. RJD’s candidate from the grand alliance is AD Singh. He is contesting against BJP’s Shivesh Ram on the fifth seat.
Elections will be held through ballot paper
The special thing about Rajya Sabha elections is that instead of secret voting, open ballot system is implemented. Under this system, MLAs can show their votes to the authorized agent of their party. If an MLA does not show his vote to the authorized representative of the party, his vote can be declared invalid. Representatives of every party will be present in the voting hall.
On the five vacant seats of Rajya Sabha, the tenure of sitting MPs Premchand Gupta and AD Singh of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Harivansh and Ramnath Thakur of Janata Dal United (JDU) and Upendra Kushwaha of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) are completing.
Bihar assembly election results
In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, the NDA alliance won an overwhelming majority by winning 202 out of 243 seats. BJP got 89 seats, while JDU won 85 seats. Apart from this, LJP got 19 seats, HAM got 5 and RLM got 4 seats.
In the grand alliance, RJD got 25 seats and Congress got 6 seats. Apart from this, CPI (ML) got 2 seats, CPI (M) got 1 seat and IIP got 1 seat. In this way, the Grand Alliance has only 35 MLAs. Apart from this, 5 MLAs of AIMIM and 1 MLA of BSP are included in other parties.