BJP's tally falls below 90 in Rajya Sabha, but...

The Bharatiya Janata Party's tally in Rajya Sabha has dipped below 90 for the first time in the past few years but the party and its allies are expected to not only recoup their losses in the coming weeks but also make some gains when by-elections are held to fill the existing vacancies.

While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is confident of winning two seats each in Bihar, Maharashtra and Assam; and one each in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tripura due to their numerical superiority over the opposition, the four new nominated members are also expected to be pro-treasury benches whenever the government names them.

Though nominated members are usually independent in the House in terms of their party affiliation, they are traditionally supportive of the agenda of the government which picks them.

The current strength of Rajya Sabha is 226 with the BJP having 86 followed by 26 of the Congress and 13 of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). There are 19 vacancies.

The ruling Congress is looking to win the lone seat in Telangana at the expense of the BRS but its gain will be cancelled in Rajasthan where the BJP, which has a strong majority, will pick up the seat vacated by K C Venugopal, a senior member of the opposition party who won the Lok Sabha poll from Alappuzha in Kerala.

The BJP is also confident of winning the solitary seat in Haryana where the poll will be held to fill the vacancy caused by the election of its Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda to Lok Sabha.

The Congress, though, hopes that a few MLAs, who are either independent or affiliated to regional parties and are looking for political alternatives ahead of the assembly polls expected in October, may switch sides and help it make a fight.

The Election Commission (EC) is yet to announce the date for elections to fill the 11 vacancies effected by the resignation of as many members. Ten of them were elected to Lok Sabha while one MP, K Keshava Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti, quit after joining the Congress.

Out of the total 19 vacancies in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, four are from Jammu and Kashmir where there is no assembly currently after the erstwhile state was made a Union Territory in 2019.

Despite an increase in its strength over the last few years, the BJP-led NDA has remained short of a majority in Rajya Sabha but has been able to push its legislative agenda due to support from some unaligned parties, including the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress and the Biju Janata Dal.

While the BJD joined the opposition's ranks during the first session of Parliament during the third term of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the YSR Congress remains sympathetic to the ruling bloc.