BJP's tally in Rajya Sabha dips to 86, NDA seats below majority mark
The BJP has 86 seats after four MPs completed their term, while the NDA led by the party has 101 seats, below the majority mark of 113 in the 245-member House.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's strength in the Rajya Sabha has dropped to 86 after four of its members completed their term on July 13, marking the first decline in several years.The members were Sonal Mansingh, Mahesh Jethmalani, Rakesh Sinha, and Ram Shakal. They were nominated by President Droupadi Murmu as non-aligned members on the advice of the ruling party, and subsequently formally allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.With their exit, the BJP's strength in the lower house has decreased to 86, while the National Democratic Alliance now stands at 101 seats. This falls short of the current majority mark of 113 in the 245-member House.
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The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) expects to secure two seats each in Bihar, Maharashtra, and Assam, as well as one seat each in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tripura, leveraging their numerical advantage over the opposition.
The four newly nominated members are also anticipated to align with the treasury benches once appointed by the government. Though nominated members are usually independent in the House in terms of their party affiliation, they are traditionally supportive of the agenda of the government which picks them.
There are currently 19 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha and Congress is looking to win the lone seat in Telangana at the expense of the BRS but its gain will be cancelled in Rajasthan where the BJP, which has a strong majority, will pick up the seat vacated by K C Venugopal, a senior member of the opposition party who won the Lok Sabha poll from Alappuzha in Kerala.
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The BJP is also confident of winning the solitary seat in Haryana where the poll will be held to fill the vacancy caused by the election of its Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda to Lok Sabha.
The Congress, though, hopes that a few MLAs, who are either independent or affiliated to the regional parties and are looking for political alternatives ahead of the assembly polls expected in October, may switch sides and help it make a fight.
The Election Commission (EC) is yet to announce the date for elections to fill the 11 vacancies effected by the resignation of as many members. Ten of them were elected to Lok Sabha while one MP, K Keshava Rao of the BRS, quit after joining the Congress.
Out of the total 19 vacancies in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, four are from Jammu and Kashmir where there is no assembly currently after the erstwhile state was made a Union Territory in 2019. (With PTI inputs)