NEW DELHI: The ruling NDA is set to consolidate its tally in the Senate after the biennial elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats on March 16, but the fate of retiring senior members like Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP), Abhishek Manu Singhvi (Congress), Ramdas Athawale (RPI-A), Tiruchi Siva (DMK) and Priyanka Chaturvedi (Sena UBT) will depend on how they fare. The concerned parties coordinate with their coalition partners.The number of members of the BJP-led NDA is expected to cross 130 with the advantage of at least four more members in the Rajya Sabha, which currently has a strength of 243 with one vacancy each in Jharkhand and West Bengal.The states whose seats will fall vacant in April are Maharashtra (7 seats), Tamil Nadu (6), West Bengal (5), Bihar (5), Odisha (4), Assam (3), Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Haryana (2 each) and Himachal Pradesh (1).The NDA has governments in six states – Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Assam – among the 10 states whose seats will fall vacant due to members retiring, giving it a clear advantage.
The opposition alliance has governments in Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.In Maharashtra, the ruling coalition, Mahayoti, is expected to win six seats compared to one seat for the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is an advantage for the NDA in the state.On the other hand, the MVA will witness a lot of political jockeying as the alliance will have to choose between the Sena UBT and NCP(SP) candidates. If the NCP sticks with Pawar, we will see if the NCP extends its support to him amid talks on factional merger.
Despite not getting the numbers, Congress Party (SP) working president Supriya Sule did not rule out the possibility of nominating her father, claiming that an MVA meeting will be held soon to finalize the name.The seven Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra whose term is set to end on April 2 are Pawar, Fouzia Khan (NCP-SP), Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad (BJP), Daryashil Patel (BJP), Athawale, Chaturvedi and Rajani Patel (Congress).In Bihar, elections will be held on five seats, three of which are held by the ruling NDA, including two for the JDU.The Republican Party for Democracy, the main opposition party in the state, has only 25 members of the multi-party alliance, leaving the combined strength of the alliance (Congress and the Left) at 35 members, five short of the number needed to retain the RSP berth. In this scenario, it will be very difficult for the RJD to replicate MP and former Union minister Prem Ch and Gupta in the Senate.In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress is expected to win four of the five BSP seats while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party may get one seat.
