PATNA, Feb. 23 -- The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar is caught in a familiar bind of ally management as it scrambles to finalise its nominees for the five Rajya Sabha (RS) seats falling vacant from the state next month. Demands from key smaller partners - Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) - have turned what should have been a straightforward exercise into a delicate balancing act, even as the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) threatens to muddy the waters by jumping into the contest. Situation for the NDA would be complicated if there would be more candidates than the vacant seats. The polls, slated for March 16, will be necessitated in case of excess candidates. The five seats will become vacant on April 9 when the terms of sitting members end. Those retiring are JD(U) heavyweights Harivansh Narayan Singh (Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha) and Union minister Ram Nath Thakur (son of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur), RJD's Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha. In the 243-member Bihar assembly, the NDA commands a formidable 202 MLAs - comfortably enough for four seats on its own steam. A candidate needs 41 first-preference votes to get elected, and with BJP ( 89) and JD(U) (85) alone accounting for the bulk, the first four candidates are virtually assured of sailing through even without full ally coordination. The real headache is the fifth seat. For that, the alliance needs at least three more votes from outside its core fold, turning the spotlight on smaller parties and possible cross-voting. That is where the allies have begun flexing their muscles. LJP(RV), with its 19 MLAs, is insisting on one seat. State minister Sanjay Kumar Singh put it bluntly on Friday: the party's entire legislative wing wants Chirag Paswan's mother, Reena Devi, to represent Bihar in the Upper House. Yet Paswan himself moved quickly to douse the speculation. Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Union minister was categorical: "Let me make it very clear that my mother is not a claimant for any of the five Rajya Sabha seats. She may have appeared in public in her capacity as a mother or as a wife, but she wants to stay away from active politics." On the other side of the NDA table sits Jitan Ram Manjhi. The HAM-S chief and Union minister has been vocal about an understanding struck before the 2025 assembly polls - that his party would get one seat in the legislative council and one in Rajya Sabha. With five MLAs of his own, Manjhi is not ready to let the matter slide quietly. Last December he had gone public, warning that the party might have to "give up the moh (attachment)" of ministerial berths if the promise was not honoured. The message, though delivered months ago, still resonates in the current parleys. Complicating the NDA's calculations is the RJD's decision to field a candidate. With 25 legislators of its own and about 10 more from Congress, Left parties and an independent, the Lalu Prasad-led party knows it falls short of the 41-vote mark on its own. But it is openly courting the five AIMIM MLAs led by Akhtarul Iman and the lone BSP member. If those votes materialise, the Grand Alliance could suddenly become a player for the fifth seat - forcing actual polling and opening the door for cross-voting that both sides are quietly working on. AIMIM, in turn, is playing its cards close to the chest. Iman has already indicated his party will field its own candidate and has publicly asked Tejashwi Yadav for reciprocal support, saying, "Why should we always vote for them and they won't? Politics is a game of give and take." A couple of AIMIM legislators are also understood to be in touch with NDA managers, keeping everyone guessing. JD(U) national general secretary Ashok Choudhary struck a confident note, asserting the NDA would sweep all five seats. "That is not a big deal," he said when asked about the three-vote shortfall for the fifth seat. "We will safely secure the support of more than three legislators before the polls." For now, backroom negotiations are in full swing. The fifth seat is being eyed not just by LJP(RV) and HAM-S but also by Kushwaha's RLM, which hopes to see its chief renominated. With nominations opening soon, the NDA leadership will have to perform some deft arithmetic - and perhaps a bit of gentle arm-twisting - to keep its house in order while fending off the opposition's last-minute bid. In Bihar politics, even a seemingly one-sided contest rarely stays simple for long....