Nitish Kumar, Nitin Nabin, Sharad Pawar Set To Get Elected Unopposed To Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Bihar's longest serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP President Nitin Naveen and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar are set to be elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, after they filed their nomination papers on Thursday. 

Nitish and Naveen will be entering the upper house of Parliament for the first time, while veteran politician Sharad Pawar will return to the Rajya Sabha once again.

How many candidates filed papers?

On the last day of nomination, 40 candidates filed their papers for 37 seats that are falling vacant in 10 states.

The seats that are set to go for polls are spread across Maharashtra (7), Odisha (4), Telangana (2), Tamil Nadu (6), Chhattisgarh (2), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Bihar (5).

What is the election schedule?

• Scrutiny of papers: March 6
• Last date for withdrawal of nomination: March 9
• Voting: March 16 (9 am to 4 pm)
• Counting of votes: Same day from 5 pm onwards
• Deadline to complete the entire process: March 20

Where did three leaders file nomination? 

Nitish Kumar and Nitin Nabin filed their nomination paper in Patna in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Sharad Pawar filed his nomination papers in Mumbai on his behalf by his daughter Supriya Sule.

What did Nitish Kumar say before filing nomination papers?

JD(U) chief Kumar on Thursday announced that he wants to enter the Rajya Sabha election and expressed his desire to become a member of the upper house, a move that will pave the way for a first BJP-led government in the state.

Bihar Chief Minister on Thursday in a message to Bihar people ahead of filing his nomination to the Rajya Sabha, thanked voters for their long-standing support.

In a post on X, Nitish Kumar said that Bihar people's trust had enabled him to serve the state for more than two decades.

“For more than two decades, you have consistently placed your trust and support in me, and it is on the strength of that trust that we have served Bihar and all of you with complete dedication,” said in a post in Hindi on X.

पिछले दो दशक से भी अधिक समय से आपने अपना विश्वास एवं समर्थन मेरे साथ लगातार बनाए रखा है, तथा उसी के बल पर हमने बिहार की और आप सब लोगों की पूरी निष्ठा से सेवा की है। आपके विश्वास और समर्थन की ही ताकत थी कि बिहार आज विकास और सम्मान का नया आयाम प्रस्तुत कर रहा है। इसके लिए पूर्व में…

— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) March 5, 2026