New Delhi: D BJPThe NDA government led by Rajya Sabha This year they have taken their number to at least 137 seats (including nominated members). opposition party And the fence-sitters are losing seats. The ruling NDA already sits comfortably above the 123-member majority in the 245-member upper house.
Rajya Sabha proceedings are going on in New Delhi. (ANI)A total of 72 legislators will complete their Rajya Sabha terms in March, April, June, July and November this year. They include nominated member and former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who is retiring in March.
The ruling NDA has bagged 42 of these seats. After the elections in these 71 seats (excluding the nominated one), the NDA’s tally will increase to at least 46 seats. The Congress-led Bharat Bloc, which currently holds 23 of these 71 seats, will lose at least one seat. Fence-sitters like BJD, YSRCP and BRS bag seven seats along with an independent MLA from Assam. If the YSRCP and BRS lose four berths, they will be reduced to just three seats.
Elections to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Manipur, which will fall vacant in June, are unlikely as the northeastern state is under President’s Rule. Another seat may fall vacant soon as NCP MLA Sunetra Power He took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Sunday. By law, a minister in a state cabinet has to be a member of that state’s legislature.
Also Read | Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar sworn in 3 days after husband Ajith’s deathThe biennial elections will also see a new low for Left parties in West Bengal, when CPI(M) MLA Vikas Ranjan Bhattacharya’s term ends in April. For the first time since 1970, the state will have no Left representative in the Rajya Sabha.
Top leaders facing fresh elections include Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, former Prime Minister and JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda, Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi and Digvijay Singh, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (State People’s Front).
The Bharat Bloc has its task cut out to retain at least 22 seats. Congress will have to engage in intense negotiations with unfriendly parties to get one seat each in Assam and Odisha.
BJP is going to win two seats in Odisha. Main rival BJD will retain one seat. But if former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik decides against supporting an opposition candidate for the fourth seat, it may also go to the BJP. Similarly, in Assam, the Congress needs AIUDF’s support to get a berth, failing which, the NDA can easily maneuver to get additional seats through second preference votes.
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The NDA’s biggest gain of three seats will be from Maharashtra, while it will gain Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The opposition will win seats in Telangana, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
