The opposition in the Rajya Sabha will be weaker this year: Congress seats will decline

(PTI) New Delhi, Feb 16, 2020, Sunday

When elections are to be held in the Rajya Sabha with 68 seats by the end of this year, the opposition will be weaker after these elections and it is likely that the Congress will lose more seats. The maximum number of seats in the Rajya Sabha this year is 51, five in June and 11 in November.

By the end of this year, Congress may lose nine out of 19 seats in the Rajya Sabha. However, this time, it is expected that Congress will send large leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Randeep Surjewal to the Rajya Sabha.

The reason for the decline of the Congress seats in the Rajya Sabha is due to the decline in its seats in some state legislatures. Sources say that Congress is confident of retaining nine of its own seats and winning one more or two more seats with the help of fellow parties.

The party believes that the party will benefit from being in power in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. A total of 68 vacancies will be filled in the Rajya Sabha in April, June and November this year, with the NDA going a little further towards the majority, which will benefit the BJP.

Top Congress leaders in Rajya Sabha Motilal Vora, Madhusudan Mistry, Kumari Shelja, Digvijay Singh, B.K. That Hariprasad and M.V. Rajiv Gowda's tenure ends in April and June. Among them, Vora, Sheelja and Digvijay are likely to re-elect the party.

However, from the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Congress is unlikely to re-elect Raj Babbar and PL Punia. BJP is more likely to benefit in these states. Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have 10 vacancies in Rajya Sabha in November.

As many Congress leaders lost in the last Lok Sabha elections, they are eager to get a seat in the Rajya Sabha from the party. However, according to internal sources, Congress is currently contesting Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Randeep Surjewal and RP. Lions are more likely to send the lion to the upper house of parliament.

Six seats, including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, are being vacated in Maharashtra. Similarly, six seats will be vacant in Tamil Nadu. Five seats in West Bengal and Bihar and four seats in Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are being vacated. The Congress is likely to get three seats in Rajasthan, two in Madhya Pradesh, two in Chhattisgarh and one each in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

However, the party may face major blows in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Meghalaya and Assam. The ruling NDA does not currently have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, and the government has to seek the help of local parties such as the AIADMK and other Janata Dal to pass important bills in the upper house of parliament.

In the current Rajya Sabha, BJP has a maximum of 82 and Congress has 46 members while the total strength of the House is 245. The Rajya Sabha has 12 nominated members, of which eight are associated with the BJP. Uttar Pradesh has 31 members in Rajya Sabha while Maharashtra has 19, Tamil Nadu 18 and West Bengal 16.