The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed towards a majority in the Rajya Sabha as the ruling alliance won 11 out of the 19 seats that went to polls on Friday.
The BJP had already bagged three of the five uncontested seats of which the results were declared earlier. The BJP on Friday won three seats in Gujarat, two in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Mizoram.
Its alliance partners won one seat each in Meghalaya ana Mizoram. The BJP has one MLA in Mizoram and supports the Mizo National Front government, but he didn’t vote on Friday. The BJP has already bagged two seats in Karnataka and one in Arunachal Pradesh.
The increase in the NDA’s tally in the Rajya Sabha is crucial as its impact will be visible in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament. Although the Narendra Modi government has managed to push contentious laws despite lack of majority in the Upper House, an increased tally will surely boost the NDA and its legislative agenda.
Following the elections, the current strength of Rajya Sabha will go up to 244, of which BJP has 86 members and the NDA’s tally goes beyond 100. The Congress has 41 while others have 27. The strength of the opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha has been a challenge for the ruling BJP which otherwise dominates the Lok Sabha given its brute majority since 2014.