NEW DELHI: NDA will further improve its tally in the Upper House of Parliament as resignation of one more YSRCP Rajya Sabha member, V Vijayasai Reddy – the fourth since the party’s rout in 2024 assembly elections – would give the BJP-led alliance one additional seat in the imminent by-election. Reddy, leader of the party in the House, resigned on Saturday.
Earlier, three resignations had helped NDA partner TDP open its account last Dec with two seats in Rajya Sabha. Its strength had reduced to zero after its dismal performance in the previous assembly polls in 2019. One of the three vacant seats went to BJP, which currently has 98 MPs in Rajya Sabha.
NDA has option to fill 4 more nominated seats
Though NDA has already crossed the majority mark in the Upper House with the help of two Independents and six nominated members, gain of an extra seat will further cement its position in the Rajya Sabha whether it goes to TDP or its partner in the state assembly Jana Sena Party or BJP.
Besides, the ruling alliance at Centre still has an option to get four more nominated members on board if govt decides to fill those four vacant seats under the nominated category.
Nominated members invariably go with govt during passing of any legislation or resolution. There are provisions of 12 nominated members in Rajya Sabha.
Since two — Gulam Ali and Satnam Singh Sandhu — of the eight nominated MPs in the current House had joined BJP after being nominated by the President, they are counted under the party’s head in the list and have to go by its whip.
Another round of vacancies will arise in June-July when two Rajya Sabha members from Assam (one from BJP and other from AGP) will retire in June and six members from Tamil Nadu (three from DMK and one each from AIADMK, PMK and MDMK) will retire in July.
BJP will retain its seat from Assam while DMK may improve its tally by gaining one extra seat in by-election in June/July. AIADMK will also be able to retain its seat.