New Delhi: The NDA government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha following the unopposed election of nine BJP members and two from its allies in the recent by-elections.
This election has raised the BJP’s count to 96 and the NDA’s total to 112 in the upper house.
Additionally, three candidates from NDA allies, including one each from Ajit Pawar’s faction of the NCP and the Rashtriya Lok Manch, were elected unopposed.
The alliance’s strength is further reinforced by the backing of six nominated and one independent member.
A Congress member was also elected, bringing the Opposition’s tally in the Upper House to 85.
The Rajya Sabha has 245 seats, with eight currently vacant—four from Jammu and Kashmir and four nominated.
With 237 members presently seated, the majority mark is at 119.
The BJP candidates elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha include Mission Ranjan Dass and Rameshwar Teli from Assam, Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Kiran Chaudhary 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.
From Maharashtra, Nitin Patil of the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP was elected unopposed, while Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Manch secured a seat from Bihar.
Achieving a Rajya Sabha majority, a long-standing goal of the NDA will greatly facilitate the passage of contentious bills in the upper house.
Previously, the substantial number of Opposition members often delayed the passage of controversial government bills.
The government typically counted on the support of non-aligned parties such as Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress to enact legislation.
