High political drama unfolded in Bihar on Monday as voting for five seats of the Rajya Sabha began amid reports that several Opposition MLAs were missing or out of contact. The sudden absence of legislators from the Opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance has sparked speculation that the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could gain a crucial advantage in the closely watched contest.

According to reports, three MLAs belonging to the Indian National Congress — Surendra Prasad Kushwaha from Valmikinagar in West Champaran district, Manoj Biswas from Forbesganj, and Manohar Prasad Singh from Manihari — were unreachable on the day of voting. Their mobile phones were reportedly switched off and party leaders were unable to establish contact with them.

At the same time, out of the 25 MLAs of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), 24 had already cast their votes, while Faisal Ali, the party’s MLA from Dhaka constituency, had not yet reached the Assembly to participate in the polling.

Reacting sharply to the situation, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that the absence of Congress legislators had weakened the Opposition’s position.

“I extend my advance congratulations to all my candidates. This is turning out to be a victory for the NDA alliance. There are no Congress MLAs present here. What can one say about a party in this condition?” he said while speaking to reporters outside the Assembly.

However, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav urged caution and said the situation should not be judged prematurely.

“I feel we should wait. Don't you agree?” he said when asked about the absence of some MLAs.

Voting for the five Rajya Sabha seats began at 9 am at the Bihar Assembly complex and will continue until 4 pm, after which counting of votes will begin.

Among the candidates fielded by the NDA are Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the president of the Janata Dal (United), and BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Other candidates from the ruling alliance include Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur and Upendra Kushwaha, chief of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, both sitting Rajya Sabha members, along with BJP leader Shivesh Kumar who is contesting for a Rajya Sabha berth for the first time.

The Opposition alliance has fielded Amarendra Dhari Singh of the RJD, who is seeking re-election to the Upper House.

With its current strength, the NDA is comfortably placed to secure four of the five seats but falls slightly short of the numbers required to win the fifth seat. For that, it would require the support of at least three MLAs from the Opposition camp.

Meanwhile, the RJD-led Grand Alliance is hoping to secure victory for its lone candidate with support from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which has five MLAs in the Assembly and has publicly declared its backing for the RJD nominee.

In order to prevent cross-voting, the Opposition alliance had kept its MLAs together at a hotel in Patna ahead of the polling.

The Bihar Assembly has a total strength of 243 members, and a candidate requires the support of at least 41 MLAs to win a seat in the Rajya Sabha. The sudden absence of some Opposition legislators has therefore injected uncertainty into what was expected to be a predictable electoral contest.