: The Election Commission on Friday announced dates for biennial polls to the Rajya Sabha for 58 seats across 16 states, with the BJP-led NDA looking at a more comfortable position for itself in the Upper House come April, while still not gaining a complete majority.
In January this year, for the first time, the BJP became the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha, pushing the Congress to the second position by one seat: 58 seats as against Congress’s 57.
In the April round of polls, the BJP will gain significantly from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, and maintain its position in Madhya Pradesh. The party hopes to offset the losses from Bihar (one seat) and Gujarat (two seats) from the whopping eight out of 10 seats that it gains from Uttar Pradesh and one seat from Uttarakhand. The Congress’ individual tally, on the other hand, will come down to 48 from the current 57 and its total with its allies, from 72 to 63.
On the whole, sources say, the BJP may gain between 10-11 seats in this round of polling . The uncertainty in the total gains to be made by the BJP stems from the fact that in Bihar, with six seats in the fray, while the Janata Dal (U) will win two seats, the BJP one, and two other seats will go to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the remaining one seat in the fray could be contested. “If the Congress and the RJD decide to strike a deal, they, the Congress, could win this seat. If the Congress splits due to its internal dynamics, then the NDA will make a bid for the seat,” said a source from the Janata Dal (U).
