NDA Touches Majority Mark In Rajya Sabha As BJP And Allies Sweep By-Polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government has successfully achieved a majority in the Rajya Sabha after the unopposed election of nine BJP members and two from its allies during the recent by-polls.

The election of new members has increased the BJP’s tally to 96, bringing the NDA’s overall count to 112 in the upper house.

In addition to the BJP members, three other candidates from NDA allies, including one each from Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP, and the Rashtriya Lok Manch, were also elected unopposed.

The ruling alliance's strength is further bolstered by the support of six nominated and one independent member.

One member of the Congress also got elected, taking the Opposition numbers in the Upper House to 85.

The Rajya Sabha consists of 245 seats, although eight are currently vacant—four from Jammu and Kashmir and four nominated.

With 237 members currently seated, the majority threshold stands at 119.

The BJP candidates who were elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed 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.

Nitin Patil from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP was elected unopposed from Maharashtra, while Updendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Manch won from Bihar.

Securing a majority in the Rajya Sabha, a goal the NDA has pursued for over a decade, will significantly ease the passage of contentious bills through the upper house.

In the past, the large number of Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha frequently held up the passage of controversial government bills.

The government often relied on the support of non-aligned parties like Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress to pass the bills.

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