BJP’s recent victory in West Bengal is unlikely to help the party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secure a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha in the near future.
The NDA currently has 149 members in the Upper House, including 113 from the BJP, in a House of 244 members. This leaves the alliance 14 seats short of the two-thirds majority mark of 163.
Rajya Sabha elections in West Bengal are scheduled for August 2029, when six seats will fall vacant, five of which are currently held by the Trinamool Congress.
The next cycle of Upper House polls will be held for 22 seats in June this year, followed by elections for 11 seats in November. In the November round, 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh will go to polls, including eight currently held by the BJP.
Further elections are lined up in the coming years, including 11 seats from Uttar Pradesh in July 2028, where the BJP holds eight. In April 2028, polls will be held for 13 seats, followed by elections for another 21 seats in June 2028.
These include seats across multiple states such as Punjab, Kerala, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, with varying political stakes across regions.
In July 2028, elections will be held for 38 Rajya Sabha seats, including five from Bihar, six from Maharashtra, three from Odisha, four from Rajasthan, along with seats from Punjab and Uttarakhand.
Recently, the BJP received a boost in the Upper House after Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan accepted the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party MPs, taking the BJP’s strength to 113.
Once the NDA gets a two-thirds majority in the Upper House, it won't be difficult for it to clear crucial legislations requiring constitutional amendments.
The NDA also does not hold a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, where it has a simple majority but would require 363 MPs for constitutional amendments.
(With inputs from PTI)