PATNA, March 1 -- As the Rajya Sabha polls, slated for March 16, draw near, the opposition INDIA bloc is generating as much curiosity as the ruling NDA. The sole candidate the bloc can field has become the centre of speculation, with several names making the rounds. The state has to elect 5 MPs to replace those retiring on April 9. Insiders in the RJD hint at various possibilities. One senior leader said that the party could opt for one of the two retiring MPs -- Prem Chand Gupta (his fifth term) and Amarendra Dhari Singh (a first-time MP). But others say the party might pick either an OBC or a Muslim candidate to strike a suitable equation to garner the support of required legislators. Among the Muslim faces making the rounds is Hina Shahab, RJD leader and wife of the late MP and strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin of Siwan. Her name was suggested by senior RJD MLA Bhai Virendra early this week when he said that Hina's candidature would actually unite the Opposition. According to Virendra, Hina could be a candidate on whose name a consensus can be reached among the opposition parties. Virendra's posturing aimed at stymieing the All India Majlise Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)-which has a crucial 5 MLAs-from splitting the Opposition, as a Muslim name would make it difficult for the AIMIM not to extend its support. AIMIM's Bihar unit chief Akhtarul Iman however has made it clear that the party would field its own candidate and the INDIA bloc must back it. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the political circles in Patna were abuzz about the possible candidature of Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's national working president, as the united Opposition's sole candidate. There was though no official confirmation from the RJD about this. A top RJD leader, who is also close to Tejashwi, said that such reports are so far merely speculations, but admitted that the RJD has very few options for the RS nominee. RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said that the decision on the RS nominee would be taken by party supremo Lalu Prasad. For the March 16 RS polls, the arithmetic for 4 seats is clear. The ruling NDA, with its mammoth 202 seats in the Bihar House, can secure 4 seats uncontested. The fifth seat is open to contest. The NDA needs 3 mere seats to reach the winning mark of 41, while the INDIA bloc will require 6 more seats as it has a cumulative total of 35 seats. In this scenario, AIMIM's 5 legislators and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)'s one MLA become the kingmakers. Their support must be the decisive factor. If the AIMIM fields its candidate and the INDIA bloc doesn't throw its weight behind that, resulting in a three-cornered contest, the BJP candidate will sail through. The AIMIM hasn't yet shown any sign of budging from its position of claiming the RS seat and neither the INDIA bloc has hinted how it would deal with this situation. The NDA, on the other hand, seems to be keeping a watch on the Opposition's strategy and hasn't named its RS nominees. But, the coalition is upbeat that it would grab all five seats, even by contesting only one. A BJP leader said that the RS nominees would be decided by the party's parliamentary board and that would happen soon....