The midpoint is 121 at Rajya Sabha, whose current complement is 242. (File)
New Delhi:
The ruling NDA waiver further solidified his position with Rajya Sabha crossing the 100 mark after nine BJP candidates, including Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, were unopposed to the Upper House on Monday.
On the other hand, Congress, which has long dominated the Upper House, has now fallen to 38 seats – the lowest on record – in the 242-member House after losing two more seats to the BJP in the current election. .
Of Rajya Sabha’s 11 seats up for grabs – 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand – nine were won by BJP candidates, including Union Urban Development Minister Puri, bringing the party’s total with 92 seats.
It was a gain of six since three of the candidates were re-elected. The constituent of the NDA, JD (U), has five seats.
The ruling alliance also includes smaller parties like RPI-Athawale, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Mizo National Front (MNF), National People’s Party (NPP), Naga People’s Front (NPF), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Bodoland People’s Avant (BPF), which have one seat each, totaling seven seats.
The NDA tally will now be 104 and can gain support from four appointed members. The midpoint is 121 at Rajya Sabha, whose current squad is 242.
The ruling alliance may also seek support for crucial bills from some friendly parties like AIADMK with nine MPs, BJD with nine MPs, TRS with seven MPs and YSRCP which has six MPs in Rajya Sabha.
These parties have extended problem-oriented support to the NDA.
The Samajwadi Party lost three seats in these RS polls in Uttarakhand and UP and the BSP lost one seat.
With the combination of decisions further strengthened, it will be easier for the government to push its legislative agenda to the upper house, where the NDA did not enjoy a majority.
Among those unopposed today were Neeraj Shekhar, Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Haridwar Dubey, Brijlal, BL Varma and Seema Dwivedi of the BJP; Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party; and Ramji Gautam of BSP.
The mandate of the newly elected members will be from November 25, 2020 to November 24, 2026.
The last day of filing nominations was dramatic, Tuesday, independent candidate backed by the Samajwadi Party, Prakash Bajaj, entered the fray just minutes before the deadline.
His papers were rejected during the review, however, but not before four signatories of BSP candidate Ramji Gautam’s nomination papers claimed their signatures had been forged and gave an affidavit to the returning officer in this regard.
Acting firmly, BSP chairman Mayawati suspended the four and three other people who reportedly met Samajwadi party chairman Akhilesh Yadav after speaking out against the party leadership.
There are 31 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, 22 of which will now be with the BJP, five with the Samajwadi Party and three with the BSP. Congress will have only one seat.
In Uttarakhand, top BJP leader Naresh Bansal was declared elected without opposition to Rajya Sabha.
The election of Mr Bansal was a mere formality as there was no challenger, with the BJP holding 57 of the 70 seats in total.
Mr. Bansal replaces Raj Babbar of Congress whose term in Rajya Sabha ends on November 25.
