Saurabh Mukherjee
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has achieved a majority in the Rajya Sabha with the unopposed election of 12 new members to the Upper House.
Although the Rajya Sabha has a full strength of 245 members, it currently has 237 due to eight vacancies—four from Jammu and Kashmir and four nominated positions. With the majority mark set at 119, the NDA now holds 121 seats, thereby strengthening its position and improving its ability to pass key legislation.
The BJP's representation in the Rajya Sabha has increased to 96 seats following the unopposed election of nine of its members. This boost elevates the NDA's total to 121 seats in the Upper House.
On the opposition side, the Congress secured one additional seat, bringing the total number of opposition members in the Rajya Sabha to 85. Other significant opposition parties include the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with 13 seats, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) with 11, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) with 10 each, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with 8, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) with 5.
Non-aligned parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) each hold 4 seats and may potentially support the government in legislative matters. The YSRCP and BJD had previously supported the BJP on various legislative matters during the last two Modi administrations.
On Tuesday, August 27, several candidates were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. Among them were union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu from Rajasthan and George Kurian from Madhya Pradesh. Other BJP members elected unopposed include Kiran Choudhry from Haryana (formerly with Congress), Mamata Mohanta from Odisha (formerly with BJD), Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Dhairyasheel Patil from Maharashtra, and Rajeev Bhattacharjee from Tripura.
Additionally, NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) was elected unopposed from Bihar, and Nitin Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra, was elected unopposed from that state. Earlier on Monday, August 26, Mission Ranjan Dass and Rameshwar Teli were elected unopposed from Assam.
On the same day, Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi was elected unopposed from Telangana, representing the opposition.
These elections filled twelve vacancies that had arisen following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which ten Rajya Sabha members were elected as MPs. The departed members include BJP’s Piyush Goyal, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Vivek Thakur, Udayanraje Bhosle, Biplab Kumar Deb, Jyotiraditya Scindia; RJD’s Misa Bharti; and Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda and K.C. Venugopal.
Two additional Rajya Sabha seats became vacant from Odisha and Telangana. Mamata Mohanta resigned from the BJD to join the BJP, while K. Keshava Rao resigned from the BRS to join the Congress, thereby creating a vacancy that allowed Abhishek Manu Singhvi to be elected.
As of July, the NDA had been short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, which then had 226 members, with the NDA holding 101 seats and 19 vacancies.
Although the Rajya Sabha has a full strength of 245 members, it currently has 237 due to eight vacancies—four from Jammu and Kashmir and four nominated positions. With the majority mark set at 119, the NDA now holds 121 seats, thereby strengthening its position and improving its ability to pass key legislation.
The BJP's representation in the Rajya Sabha has increased to 96 seats following the unopposed election of nine of its members. This boost elevates the NDA's total to 121 seats in the Upper House.
On the opposition side, the Congress secured one additional seat, bringing the total number of opposition members in the Rajya Sabha to 85. Other significant opposition parties include the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with 13 seats, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) with 11, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) with 10 each, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with 8, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) with 5.
Non-aligned parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) each hold 4 seats and may potentially support the government in legislative matters. The YSRCP and BJD had previously supported the BJP on various legislative matters during the last two Modi administrations.
On Tuesday, August 27, several candidates were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. Among them were union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu from Rajasthan and George Kurian from Madhya Pradesh. Other BJP members elected unopposed include Kiran Choudhry from Haryana (formerly with Congress), Mamata Mohanta from Odisha (formerly with BJD), Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Dhairyasheel Patil from Maharashtra, and Rajeev Bhattacharjee from Tripura.
Additionally, NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) was elected unopposed from Bihar, and Nitin Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra, was elected unopposed from that state. Earlier on Monday, August 26, Mission Ranjan Dass and Rameshwar Teli were elected unopposed from Assam.
On the same day, Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi was elected unopposed from Telangana, representing the opposition.
These elections filled twelve vacancies that had arisen following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which ten Rajya Sabha members were elected as MPs. The departed members include BJP’s Piyush Goyal, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Vivek Thakur, Udayanraje Bhosle, Biplab Kumar Deb, Jyotiraditya Scindia; RJD’s Misa Bharti; and Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda and K.C. Venugopal.
Two additional Rajya Sabha seats became vacant from Odisha and Telangana. Mamata Mohanta resigned from the BJD to join the BJP, while K. Keshava Rao resigned from the BRS to join the Congress, thereby creating a vacancy that allowed Abhishek Manu Singhvi to be elected.
As of July, the NDA had been short of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, which then had 226 members, with the NDA holding 101 seats and 19 vacancies.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment