One of the major political changes is in the house of Rajya Sabha where now the incumbent ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority. The NDA achieved this historic feat after the recent by-elections in which nine BJP and two allies were elected unopposed.
By these wins, the BJP now has 96 members in the Rajya Sabha, and the total for the NDA has reached 112 members. This new majority is expected to help this Congress more easily push through legislation that have been difficult in the past.
NDA‘s Newly Elected Members Strengthen NDA’s Position
Nine newcomers who belong to BJP are Mission Ranjan Dass and Rameshwar Teli from Assam, Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Kiran Chadhary 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. Their “uncontested” election can be seen as the further rise of the BJP in different states.
Two of them belong to the allied parties of NDA, and they also got elected without any contest. Ajit Pawar’s faction from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won a seat from Maharashtra and Upendra Kushwaha from the Rashtriya Lok Manch (RLM) from Bihar.
Opposition Presence in Rajya Sabha
On the opposition side Congress Abhishek Manu singhvi was elected unopposed from Telangana total number of opposition 85 members Rajya sabha. However, the opposition still remains outnumbered, especially in the wake of the new found majority by the NDA, which controls both the houses of the Indian parliaments.
Rajya Sabha Composition and Implications
At present the Rajya Sabha is functioning with 237 members having a total member strength of 245, thanks to eight vacancies out of which four are for Jammu and Kashmir and four nominated seats. As we expected the current strength has some variations to the majority mark of which it is currently holds 119. The NDA with a tall of 112 is slightly below this but it is predicted to continue dominating the house on account of the six nominated members and one independent member.
The victory to get the RS majority is the goal, NDA has in sight for almost a decade now. This majority is certainly expected to support the passing of several bills, more so those that they had deemed unfavourable in the previous sessions. In recent past the NDA has been facing difficulties in passing some legislations this is due to the fact that the opposition has majority at the upper house. Sometimes it was forced to depend on non-Congress and non-BJP allied partners such as Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress in terms of passing crucial bills.
Changing Political Landscape However, the political reality that today exists is different. Although both the BJD and the YSR Congress have lost power in their home state; the first to the BJP and the second to the BJP’s ally, Naidu. These parties are no longer functional in Centre, and therefore, their support in Rajya Sabha cannot be expected by the NDA which makes such gains recent more important.
These changes tend to have significant impact on the parliamentary system and functioning of the Indian legislature especially when viewed in the light of the new strength the NDA has got in the Rajya Sabha. As the ruling alliance becomes more entrenched in its position, the passage of more provocative laws that earlier could face tremendous opposition is going to be immensely easier.
