Patna, March 13 (IANS) The MP-MLA Court Patna has granted relief to jailed MLA Anant Singh, allowing him to cast his vote in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

The court ruled on Friday that Singh will be brought to the Bihar Legislative Assembly under police custody to participate in the voting scheduled for March 16. After casting his vote, he will be taken back to jail.

Anant Singh is currently lodged in jail in connection with the murder of Dularchand Yadav, an incident that occurred in Mokama during the Bihar Assembly elections 2025.

The court’s decision allowing him to vote is seen as a major development, particularly for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as every vote is crucial in the Rajya Sabha contest.

The Rajya Sabha elections for five seats from Bihar are scheduled for March 16 and have turned into a prestige battle between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan.

The NDA has fielded candidates for all five seats with the aim of securing a clean sweep.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), led by Tejashwi Yadav, has also entered the fray and nominated A.D. Singh as its candidate, making the contest for the fifth seat particularly interesting.

Under the current electoral arithmetic, a candidate requires the support of 41 MLAs in the Bihar Assembly to win a Rajya Sabha seat.

With a total strength of around 243 MLAs in the Assembly, the NDA is comfortably placed to win four seats. However, the alliance faces a tighter calculation for the fifth seat, where every vote becomes significant.

In this scenario, the participation of Anant Singh — an MLA from Mokama elected on a Janata Dal (United) ticket — could prove crucial for the NDA’s prospects.

Both alliances are now actively working to ensure the support of their MLAs ahead of the March 16 voting, after which it will become clear whether the NDA secures all five seats or the RJD manages to claim the crucial fifth seat.

–IANS

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