Patna,(BiharTimes): The JD(U) and BJP have started gearing up for the biennial election for Rajya Sabha from Bihar as the term of five members is going to end on April 9. The election is likely to be held in March.

This would be the first election after the June 16 split in the National Democratic Alliance in the state.

The retiring members are former bureaucrat N K Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Sabir Ali of Janata Dal (United), Dr C P Thakur of Bharatiya Janata Party and Prem Gupta of Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The JD (U) has 118 MLAs while the BJP 91, the RJD 22, Congress four and Independents six. The CPI and LJP have one member each in the state Assembly.

Four Congress, four of the six Independents and the lone CPI legislator supported the JD (U) government during the trust vote on June 19 last after the split in the NDA. The two other Independent MLAs support the BJP.

As the RJD is not in a position to get its candidate re-elected to the Upper House there is no scope of the former Union minister Prem Gupta entering Parliament. It is to be seen which party will the 22 MLAs of the party vote.

Prem Gupta was elected for the first time in 1996 and then again in 2002 and 2008.

Each candidate would need more than 40.5 first preference votes to win the election.

The JD (U) is expected to retain three seats while BJP will comfortably get two seats on the basis of first preference votes.

While N K Singh and Sabir Ali, according to the JD(U) insiders, are likely to be re-nominated by the party there is some doubt over the candidature of Shivanand Tiwari. He was the one who came down heavily on the chief minister Nitish Kumar at October 29 Chintan Shivir of the party at Rajgir.

In BJP Dr C P Thakur, a strong supporter of party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, is likely to be re-nominated.

As the saffron party is in the position to take the seat which would be vacated by Prem Gupta, various names are coming up.

They are former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, former deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha S S Ahluwalia, a senior member of the central executive of BJP Ravindra Kishore Sinha and party general secretary in Bihar Suraj Nandan Kushwaha.

Reports said that Sushil Modi may not contest the Lok Sabha election of 2014 as he would be engaged in its campaign. Therefore, he may be nominated for Rajya Sabha.