Difficult for Kejriwal to defeat Centre’s ordinance in RS

Even as AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal is going from pillar to post to gather the support of anti-BJP parties to defeat the Services bill (promulgated by the Centre) which will later be introduced during the Monsoon session of Parliament by the Centre, the party has an uphill task to convince the Congress, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSRCP to defeat the bill in the Upper House of Parliament. If AAP fails in its mission, all its hard work will go in vain.
The Delhi-based party needs the votes of 120 out of 238 Rajya Sabha members who are eligible to vote in order to defeat the Services bill (the other 12 nominated members are not entitled to vote). The Opposition has around 125 Rajya Sabha seats and if it comes together, it can easily stop the bill from becoming law.
However, the numbers game seems difficult for AAP at the moment. Besides Congress (with 31 seats), the other unsure constituents of these Opposition seats are BJD and YSRCP who both have 9 members each (equaling 18) in the Upper House. BJD and YSRCP also have a history of supporting bills passed by the Centre. If, in the least, these two parties abstain from voting, it will bring the AAP’s tally to 107 (only if Congress votes in favour of AAP). Yet, BJP would be able to pass the bill with its NDA parties supporting it which constitute around 110 seats. Additionally, there is BSP (1), TDP (1) and JDS (1) which would also prefer to vote in favour of BJP.
A senior leader close to Congress president Malikarjun Kharge said, “Arvind Kejriwal wants to meet Rahul Gandhi, but he is not here. When Rahulji comes back, a meeting could be decided. There have been no talks on the matter yet. Regarding the affairs of the Opposition alliance, Congress said it will first talk with the state units and then decide. But the state units have upfront rejected any alliance with AAP. They don’t want to support the Delhi-based party. That is what they have said. Now whether they will support AAP over the Services bill is not clear yet. That is another thing. Many parties have already decided whether they will vote for them or not. Moreover, the matter is not that pressing. The discussion about the issue will only be held before the Parliament begins.”
A political analyst who has been tracking national politics said, “Even if we assume that the BJD and YSRCP also support Kejriwal, the chances of Congress supporting AAP on the bill seem difficult. First, the Congress does not want to have any alliance with AAP and second, the support will give AAP full administrative control over Delhi which will make the grand old party think twice in a way that if it comes to the power at the Centre, they (Congress) will have no administrative control over Delhi.”
Kejriwal, who is on a nationwide campaign to seek support from all Opposition parties to ensure the defeat of the NCCSA Bill, has already received support from 10 Opposition parties.