The BJP-led NDA is now emerging as a strong force in the Rajya Sabha also. Although it is still far away from a two-thirds majority, recent election results have significantly increased its number of seats. Till June 18, elections were held for 27 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states. Meanwhile, after the resignation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, there is talk that the number of seats of NDA may increase further.
BJP has been the largest party in the NDA alliance in Rajya Sabha and the total strength of the alliance has now reached 152 seats. Initially, when MPs were elected unopposed on 24 seats, 19 of them were from the NDA. With Parimal Nathwani’s victory in Jharkhand on Thursday, the number of NDA MPs has increased to 20. It is noteworthy that the alliance is now only 11 seats away from two-thirds majority.
It is worth noting that four angry TMC Rajya Sabha MPs have recently resigned. These include Sushmita Dev, Prakash Barik, Sukhendu Shekhar Rai and Koel Malik. After BJP’s historic victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, it is being speculated that the party can easily win these seats. It is also anticipated that more MPs may resign in the coming days.
**Parties that are not part of any coalition**
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has five Rajya Sabha MPs and YSRCP has seven; Neither of these parties is part of any formal alliance, although they have supported the NDA several times. However, after the Odisha Assembly elections, there has been a change in the equations between BJD and BJP.
A two-thirds majority is required to pass a Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament. If NDA achieves this figure, it will be easy to pass the bill related to delimitation. There are reports that the Modi government may reintroduce the bill during the monsoon session, although no official announcement has been made yet. How many MPs are there in the Indian alliance?
The Congress-led Indian alliance has only 64 MPs, as the DMK (with 8 MPs) and the Aam Aadmi Party (with 3 MPs) walked away from the group. It is worth noting that the number of NDA in the Lok Sabha can cross 300, because about 20 TMC MPs can support it by forming a separate faction.