New Delhi: For the first time in its history, the BJP has achieved the feat of having 100 members in the Rajya Sabha. This came after the party won one seat each in Assam, Tripura and Nagaland in the elections held on Thursday.
In the recently held biennial polls for 13 Rajya Sabha seats across six states, the BJP lost its solitary seat from Punjab but gained one each from the three northeastern states and Himachal Pradesh, where all five outgoing members were from opposition parties.
In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party won all five seats.
While the Rajya Sabha website is yet to notify the new tally, the BJP’s numbers will reach 100 if the three seats it has gained in the latest round of elections are added to the existing 97.
The BJP’s tally, despite being way short of the majority in the 245-member House, highlights its continuous rise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led it to its majority in Lok Sabha in the 2014 polls. The BJP’s strength in Rajya Sabha was 55 in 2014 and has since steadily inched up as the party won power in a number of states.
