Regional parties hold the key for BJP to get desired strength in Rajya Sabha

The victory will add a seat to the BJP’s tally in Rajya Sabha. BJP’s Vinay Tendulkar had earlier defeated Congress’ Shantaram Naik from Goa to claim a seat in the Upper House of Parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP won a majority in Lok Sabha in 2014, a feat that was repeated after 30 years. The party has chosen the president of their choosing and the vice president will likely be from the same camp as well. However, the party will have to wait for the next round of elections for Rajya Sabha for it to gain the majority in the House.

Currently, BJP has 57 members in the 245 member house. The NDA alliance accounts for 101 members. 13 of these include AIADMK. The Congress has equal numbers as the BJP in Rajya Sabha. The entire Opposition accounts for 123 members in Rajya Sabha. One could arguably add a Janata Dal (United) member Veerendra Kumar who stood against the BJP-JD(U) alliance in Bihar. The member has announced publically that he will vote for the Opposition’s candidate for vice president–Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the August 5 elections. Of the nine other members from the JD (U), it is uncertain whom Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar will vote for–both have been sharply critical of the BJP.

There are those who are fence sitters as well. Biju Janata Dal has 8 members, Telangana Rashtra Samiti has 3, Indian National Lok Dal and YSR Congress have one each. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD has, however, taken a side on the vice president’s election and said that he will vote for Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Six independent members in the House lean toward the government more than the Opposition.

There are two vacancies in the Upper House. One of the two was left vacant when Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati resigned. The BJP’s ranks are set to be strengthened as the party’s chief Amit Shah will most likely be elected from Gujarat along with Union Minister Smriti Irani. The party is also set to claim the seat left vacant in Madhya Pradesh after the death of former Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave. The party has fielded Sampatiya Uike as the candidate for the election.

JD (U) leaders including the rebels will be the most closely watched members during the vice president election on August 5. Before joining hands with the BJP recently, the party had announced its support for Gopalkrishna Gandhi. However, it will be interesting to see whether the party sticks to its word. In the presidential elections, however, the party had strayed away from the United Opposition and showed support to President Ram Nath Kovind’s candidacy.

Elections for six seats are being held in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress is strong in at least five and the Congress in the remaining. The CPI (M) is expected to lose its strength from 8 to 7 in the House.