New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA is now just three seats shy of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of parliament, after the latest round of polls.
With the election to 56 Rajya Sabha seats this month, the BJP alone has moved closer to the 100-seat mark.
In this round of elections, the party secured 30 of the 56 seats, bringing its tally in the Upper House to 97 and the NDA’s to 118.
Earlier this month, candidates for 41 of the 56 seats were elected unopposed. The election, held on Tuesday, covered 15 seats across three states. The BJP secured two additional seats, one in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh and one in Uttar Pradesh, thanks to cross-voting by MLAs from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
While the majority mark in the 245-member Upper House is 123, five seats are currently vacant, with four in President’s Rule-imposed Jammu and Kashmir, and one in the nominated member category. This reduces the House’s strength to 240 and the majority mark to 121.
With the BJP’s dominance in the Lok Sabha, the party’s performance in the Rajya Sabha has become crucial for passing bills.
Since 2019, despite lacking a majority, the NDA government has managed to pass critical bills in the upper house with the support of neutral parties like Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Congress. These bills include the repeal of Article 370, the abolition of triple talaq, and the Delhi Service bill, among others.
For the Congress-led Opposition, being in the minority in the Rajya Sabha would further limit their position.