NDA Clinches Rajya Sabha Majority As 11 Members Elected Unopposed, Know BJP's Score

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has reached the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha, with 112 members, including 96 from the BJP.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has reached the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha as of Tuesday. This development occurred ahead of the upcoming by-elections for the Rajya Sabha, with nine BJP members and two allied party members being elected unopposed. With these nine new members, the BJP's strength in the upper house has now risen to 96, bringing the total number of NDA members to 112.

Among the three other members elected unopposed were one each from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Rashtriya Lok Manch. Additionally, the ruling NDA enjoys the support of six nominated and one independent member.

The Congress also secured the election of one of its members. The Rajya Sabha currently has 245 seats, of which eight remain vacant—four from Jammu and Kashmir and four for nominated members. With the current strength of the house at 237, the majority mark stands at 119.

The BJP's nine candidates who secured unopposed victories include Mission Ranjan Das and Rameshwar Teli from Assam, Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Kiran Choudhary from Haryana, Union Minister George Kurian from Madhya Pradesh, Dhairyasheel Patil from Maharashtra, Mamata Mohanta from Odisha, and Union MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu from Rajasthan. Additionally, Rajeev Bhattacharjee from Tripura was also elected unopposed.

Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi was elected unopposed from Telangana as was Nitin Patil from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP in Maharashtra, and Upendra Kushwaha, National President of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar.

Why Rajya Sabha Majority Mark Matters For NDA

This majority marks a significant victory for the NDA, which has been striving for over a decade to secure control of the Rajya Sabha. This is seen as crucial for the passage of controversial bills, which have often been stalled in the upper house due to the strong presence of the opposition in recent years.

In previous instances such as the passage of The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, parties like Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and YS Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress helped the NDA pass the contentious legislation that sought to dilute the powers of the Delhi Government over services.

The three now-withdrawn agrarian bills were also passed with the help of non-allied parties despite the NDA not having its own majority.

The Election Commission had earlier announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha byelections to fill 12 seats across nine states. The vacancies arose primarily due to members contesting the recent Lok Sabha elections, with additional seats in Odisha and Telangana vacated after members' resignations from their respective parties.