PATNA, Jan. 3 -- With five Rajya Sabha (RS) seats from Bihar falling vacant in April, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has emerged as a crucial player, courted by both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan. According to insiders, both alliance partners have started reaching out to the AIMIM leadership for the support of the party's five MLAs. For the NDA, support from AIMIM would help it win all five seats, while for the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan, it would ensure that at least one candidate reaches the Upper House. Five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar will become vacant on April 9, and elections for all these seats are likely to be announced in March. The Rajya Sabha members whose terms are expiring include Prem Chand Gupta and Amrendra Dhari Singh, both from the RJD; Harivansh Narayan Singh and Ramnath Thakur from the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U); and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha. As per the Rajya Sabha election formula, a party requires the support of at least 41 MLAs to win a seat. Holding 202 of the 243 assembly seats, the NDA is set to secure four seats based on first-preference votes. On the other hand, the Mahagathbandhan, comprising RJD, Congress, and Left parties, has 35 MLAs. In addition, one seat is held by the BSP, five seats by AIMIM, and one seat by the IIP. Since the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan does not have the requisite 41 votes to win a seat on its own, the NDA could claim the fifth seat through second-preference votes. In the biennial election, each voter must mark all candidates in order of preference. If no candidate achieves a clear majority from the first-preference votes, the second-preference votes are counted to determine the winner. Using this formula, the NDA can comfortably secure four seats with just 164 MLAs. This would leave the alliance with 38 remaining votes, meaning it would need the backing of three more MLAs to claim the crucial fifth seat. The INDIA bloc can win the fifth seat with the support of its 35 MLAs, five MLAs of Owaisi's party, and one BSP MLA, but for that, the support of AIMIM is crucial. "In such a scenario, Asaduddin Owaisi's party would be playing an important role, and whoever it supports is guaranteed to win. If the NDA manages to secure the support of Owaisi's party, it will win all five seats," said a senior NDA leader familiar with the matter. However, AIMIM has so far kept its options open. "It would be premature to talk about our stance. We will take a call once the time comes," said AIMIM state president Akhtarul Imam, neither confirming nor denying that his party has been approached by the NDA or the opposition. Meanwhile, elections for two legislative council seats in Bihar will likely be held along with the Rajya Sabha polls. Two MLCs, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Mangal Pandey and JD (U)'s Radhacharan Shah, have been elected to the legislative assembly, and their tenure as MLCs ends in 2030. Although deputy chief minister Samrat Chowdhary was also elected to the assembly, his MLC term will end on June 28. Council officials said elections for such a short tenure are highly unlikely. In fact, the terms of 15 other MLCs end between June and November....