The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) tally in the Rajya Sabha has surpassed 100 for the first time. The BJP is also the first party to accomplish the feat since 1988. This achievement came after the BJP won three Rajya Sabha seats in the Northeast on Thursday. The current rally of the BJP in Rajya Sabha stands at 101.
It is the first time a party has attained this number in the 245-member House since 1988 when Congress attained more than 100 members. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, the BJP had 55 seats in the upper house.
The BJP won the Tripura seat in the elections for the four Rajya Sabha seats due to its legislative majority. In Nagaland, the BJP fielded a woman candidate, S Phangnon Konyak, who easily won. She is also Nagaland’s first woman elected to the Rajya Sabha. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP, won both RS seats in Assam.
We won both the Rajya Sabha seats from Assam (one by the BJP and other by UPPL,our partner ) by a huge margin of 11 and 9 votes respectively @AmitShah @JPNadda @blsanthosh
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) March 31, 2022
For the first time, Congress does not have a Rajya Sabha representation from the Northeast. The Congress party dominated the north-eastern state of Assam till 2015.
The Aam Aadmi Party has won all five Rajya Sabha seats in Punjab, while the BJP has won five – one each in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland, two in Assam, and one in Tripura.
The BJP’s majority in the Rajya Sabha grew from 97 to 101. The size of the Congress has lowered from 33 to 32 members. With 13 members, the AITC is the second-largest opposition party after the Congress, followed by the DMK (10) and the BJD (9). The CPI-M, TRS, and YSRCP are the only parties with six members apiece.
With 123 constituting a majority in the 245-member House, the BJP’s total, albeit well short of a majority, demonstrates the party’s consistent rise since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
After July, the parties’ positions in the Rajya Sabha will be clearer. The opposition is out of the race for the Vice President election in August, with 13 more members of Congress from the upper house retiring by July.
Rajya Sabha Elections
The Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, has a maximum membership of 250 members, with 12 members selected by the President and 238 representing the States and Union Territories.
The Rajya Sabha currently has 245, with 233 members representing the states and union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 members selected by the President. Persons with particular expertise or practical experience in areas like literature, science, art, and social service are nominated by the President.
Rajya Sabha is a perpetual House that cannot be dissolved. However, one-third of Rajya Sabha members retire every two years. A member who is elected for a full term serves for six years.
Elections to the Upper House of Parliament are held using an indirect voting system. Unlike the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha MPs are chosen by proportional representation using the single transferable vote (STV) system by members of the State Legislative Assembly (called MLAs).
Under the system, an MLA’s vote is only counted once, and he cannot vote for each seat. This ensures that legislators from parties other than the ruling party are fairly represented in the Upper House of Parliament.
