NDA Likely To Get Majority In Rajya Sabha By 2021
How BJP fares in Rajya Sabha election in 2020 will depend on Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand polls due later this year.
The Bharatiya Janata-led National Democratic Alliance is likely to get a majority in the Rajya Sabha by the end of 2021, making it easier for the ruling alliance to carry out its legislative agenda. The BJP-led NDA currently has 99 members in the Upper House of Parliament.
After securing a thumping majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha election with victory in 303 seats, the BJP is looking at a rise in its numbers in the Rajya Sabha in the months ahead as it is all set to win most of the seats in states like Uttar Pradesh.
Assembly elections are due in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year. The BJP’s performance in the Rajya Sabha elections, slated for 2020, will depend on the numbers garnered in these state elections.
BJP’s floor managers in the Rajya Sabha are confident of putting up a good show in the assembly elections and are confident of the NDA crossing the majority mark of 124 in the Rajya Sabha.
The saffron party is currently in power in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand.
As many as 10 Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant in Uttar Pradesh in 2020. The BJP's huge majority in the state means it can win nine of those.
If seats held by NDA allies—the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra—are added, then the ruling alliance may cross the majority mark of 124 seats in 2021.
Many non-NDA, non-UPA parties like the Biju Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the YSR Congress Party have supported the ruling alliance on several crucial bills.
A Rajya Sabha majority will be a big boost for the Narendra Modi-led government as its contentious bills to abolish "triple talaq" and amend the Citizenship Act are stuck in the Upper House of Parliament.