PATNA, March 17 -- A day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wrested all five Rajya Sabha (RS) seats from Bihar, Congress MLA from Valmiki Nagar Surendra Prasad Kushwaha broke his silence through a Facebook post, claiming he abstained from voting owing to selection of a poor candidate by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

The Congress MLA's assertion on the 'wrong choice', has apparently exposed fresh cracks in the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) and raised questions about the alliance's cohesiveness ahead of future electoral battles, including the state elections in five states. Kushwaha was among the four candidates, including RJD MLA from Dhaka Faisal Rahman, who did not turn up for voting in the crucial RS polls on Monday.

The RS polls ...