In a boost for the Narendra Modi government, the National Democratic Alliance Government has secured the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha – crucial for passing of many bills. The ruling NDA secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha today as nine BJP members and two from allied parties were elected unopposed in the upper house by-elections. The majority mark will help the NDA in passing key bills like Waqf Amendment bill once taken up in the upper house.
With these new members, the BJP’s total has risen to 96, bringing the NDA’s overall strength in the Rajya Sabha to 112. Apart from the nine BJP MPs, three more members were elected unopposed—one from Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP, another from the Rashtriya Lok Manch, both NDA allies and one from the Congress. The ruling coalition also enjoys the support of six nominated members and one independent member. Thus, in the case of voting, the NDA will have the support of 119 members.
The Rajya Sabha currently has 245 seats, although there are eight vacancies—four from Jammu and Kashmir and four nominated. With the house’s present strength of 237, the majority threshold stands at 119.
Meanwhile, a Congress member was also elected, raising the Opposition’s count in the Rajya Sabha to 85. Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress was elected unopposed from Telangana.
The BJP candidates who were elected unopposed include Mission Ranjan Dass and Rameshwar Teli from Assam, Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Kiran Chadhary from Haryana, George Kurien from Madhya Pradesh, Dhirya Sheel Patil from Maharashtra, Mamata Mohanta from Odisha, Ravneet Singh Bittu from Rajasthan, and Rajeev Bhattacharjee from Tripura. Nitin Patil from the NCP’s Ajit Pawar faction secured a seat from Maharashtra, while Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Manch was elected to the upper house from Bihar.
