BJP’s tally in Rajya Sabha slips to 86, but it still has upper hand

Four nominated members who were part of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha have retired, reducing its strength to 86 and that of the BJP-led NDA to 101 in a House of 226.

Though the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) can still get key legislation passed with the backing of Independents and friendly parties, BJP sources say it is important to fill up the 19 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha at the earliest.

Nominated members

Rakesh Sinha, Ram Shakal, Sonal Mansingh and Mahesh Jethmalani are the nominated members who retired on Saturday.

They had formally aligned themselves with the BJP after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha. Another such member, Gulam Ali, will retire in September 2028.

The President nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha on the government’s recommendation. Such members tend to back the ruling party when a legislation or resolution is to be passed.

Vacancies now

The Rajya Sabha has 19 vacancies, including four each from Jammu and Kashmir and, in the nominated category, two each from Assam, Bihar, and Maharashtra, and one each from Haryana, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tripura.

Ten of these 11 seats got vacant last month due to the election of members to the Lok Sabha while one was due to the resignation of Bharat Rashtra Samithi member K Keshava Rao, who joined the Congress.

Election to these 11 seats will possibly give eight seats to the NDA and three to the INDIA bloc. The Congress tally will rise to 27.