NEW DELHI, 28 March — Former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, former Union minister K. Natwar Singh and industrialist Vijay Mallya were among key figures who won seats in the Rajya Sabha in the elections held yesterday.

Film actor-turned politician and star speaker of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shatrughan Sinha retained his Rajya Sabha seat by a narrow margin.

The Rajya Sabha has 245 members, who serve a six-year term and are elected by state legislators by a system of proportional representation. Unlike the Lok Sabha, the upper house is never dissolved and one-third of its members retire every two years.

Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh was elected to the upper house from Rajasthan along with two other Congress candidates, Abrar Ahmad and Prabha Thakur.

The election of Laloo, whose Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) rules Bihar, marked a triumphant return to Parliament after five years of ups and downs that saw him losing office after being charged in a corruption case.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 but lost the snap polls held a year later. Laloo’s wife Rabri Devi currently heads the RJD government in Bihar. Laloo’s victory was all the more sweeter due to the defeat of former friend-turned-foe Ranjan Yadav, who has served two terms in the upper house.

Sinha was also returned to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, but by a narrow margin. For the actor-politician, marginalized in his own party and denied a cabinet berth, re-election to the upper house was the only way to keep his political career afloat.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Shibu Soren was elected from Jharkhand. Soren, who has faced corruption charges in a case also involving former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, won with the support of the BJP. Rao was recently acquitted of the charges.

In Orissa, expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former Union minister Dilip Ray won as an independent candidate, upsetting political calculations and dealing a severe blow to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Patnaik’s aides fear that Ray’s victory could lead to a split in the ruling BJD.

In Karnataka, industrialist Vijay Mallya garnered the support of all parties barring the BJP to bag a Rajya Sabha seat. Mallya triumphed against all odds, including an attempt by the BJP to have his nomination rejected on account of his non-resident status. Several prominent leaders have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.