New Delhi: The BJP’s number of seats in the Rajya Sabha is likely to become twice that of the Congress after elections to the Upper House are held on 19 June.
At present, the BJP has 75 MPs in the Upper House, while the Congress has 39. After the elections, the number of BJP seats is likely to increase and, therefore, its tally would be either double or more than double of the Congress. Apart from the two parties, only Trinamool Congress has its MPs in double digits (13).
The elections are going to be held for 24 seats and the BJP is expected to win about half of those. With this, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is gradually inching towards the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha. BJP’s number (75)—along with JDU, SAD and RPI-A—takes the NDA total to 87. AIADMK, with its nine members, usually supports the ruling combine. On the other hand, regional parties like TRS (7), YSR Congress Party (2) and BJD (9), extend issue-based support to the NDA. There are six independent and four nominated members.
The Election Commission (EC) recently announced that elections for 18 Rajya Sabha seats that were deferred due to the Covid-19 lockdown would be held on 19 June. The Commission had deferred the 26 March Rajya Sabha elections citing the threat of coronavirus, saying a decision on conducting them would be taken after reviewing the situation. It also announced election to six seats, including four from Karnataka.
While 17 members from six states retired on 9 April, one from Meghalaya retired on 12 April. Originally, the election was to take place on 26 March for 55 seats, but 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest. In a House of 245, there are 21 vacancies as of now.
Out of these 18 seats, four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, two from Jharkhand, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and one each from Manipur and Meghalaya. The counting of votes will be held on the evening of 19 June itself, the Commission said in a statement.
The BJP is likely to gain seats as per the present composition of the state Assemblies. But, at the same time, it is also likely to lose a few seats from states like Rajasthan and Bihar because of the changed composition of the state Assemblies there.
Meanwhile, hectic activities were seen in states where elections are going to take place. In a big jolt to the Congress in Gujarat, two MLAs resigned from the membership of the state Assembly. The Congress can easily win two seats, but the odds are against the Congress winning a second seat. Four Congress MLAs had resigned in March already.
In Karnataka, hectic lobbying was underway in BJP for tickets. The BJP has 117 MLAs in the 223-member state Assembly. Two of its MLAs will get elected comfortably, as each requires 45 votes to win in the event of a contest from the Opposition Congress and JDS.