It can now be noted that the ruling NDA has a clear majority in Rajya Sabha after BJP secured nine out of nine seats and two allies in the recent by-elections. It has been noticed that the BJP has strength 96 now and thus with the help of its allies in the NDA, it has strength of 112 in the Rajya Sabha. Some of the newly elected members belong to BJP allies, for instance the NCP faction with candidate Ajit Pawar and Rashtriya Lok Manch. Six of the members are nominated by the ruling alliance including one independent member. With the new joining of these members, the Congress has now got 85 seats in the Rajya Sabha where it got one seat through Abhishek Manu Singhvi from Telangana.
The Rajya Sabha has 245 members but presently there are 8 vacant seats for the members. The number is currently at 237, as for the majority mark it is 119. The new members of the BJP are, Mission Ranjan Dass, Rameshwar Teli, Manan Kumar Mishra, Kiran Chadhary, George Kurien, Dhirya Sheel Patil, Mamata Mohanta, Ravneet Singh Bittu and Rajeev Bhattacharjee.
Getting a majority in the Rajya Sabha is a big boost for the NDA because it now has a free ride to pass contentious legislation because earlier it does not have adequate numbers to counter the strong numbers that the opposition brought on the floor. Depending on the progressive political dynamics, the BJP has actually eased the ways to enact legislative bills.
