New Delhi, 12th August. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is projected to secure a clear majority in the Rajya Sabha following the bye-elections for 12 seats scheduled next month. This anticipated majority would enable the government to push through key legislation, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha during the recent Monsoon Session and now under review by the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Currently, the Rajya Sabha has an effective strength of 229 members, with the BJP holding 87 seats and its allies contributing an additional 18, bringing the NDA’s total to 105. With six nominated members typically aligned with the government, the NDA’s strength stands at 111, just four seats short of the required majority of 115.
The opposition, led by Congress with 26 members and its allies adding another 58, has a combined strength of 84. Key fence-sitters include the YSR Congress Party with 11 members and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with eight.
Bye-elections for the 12 vacant seats across nine states are set for September 3. The BJP and its allies are expected to win 11 of these seats, pushing the NDA’s total to 122 in the 245-member Rajya Sabha. The effective strength of the Rajya Sabha is currently reduced to 241 due to four vacant seats from Jammu and Kashmir, pending the formation of a legislative assembly in the Union Territory.
The vacancies arose from the election of several sitting Rajya Sabha members to the Lok Sabha, including Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, among others. Bypolls are also underway for two seats in Telangana and Odisha, following the resignations of K Keshava Rao from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Mamata Mohanta from the BJD, who joined the BJP.
The BJP’s allies in the Upper House include AIADMK, JD(U), NCP, JD(S), RPI(A), Shiv Sena, RLD, NPP, PMK, Tamil Manila Congress, and UPPL.
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