BJP has 69 seats after biennial elections, Congress 54, TMC 13 in the Upper House
In the Rajya Sabha elections held to 58 seats, the BJP won 29, the Congress nine, Trinamool four, TRS and BJD three each, JD-U, TDP and RJD two each and SP, Shiv Sena, NCP and YSRC one each.
AMN / NEW DELHI
Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has emerged as the largest party in the Upper House of parliament, after biennial elections to 59 seats for Rajya Sabha. It has now widened the gap between it and the opposition Congress.
For the 59 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed on March 15 with the BJP accounting for 16 of them. It won 12 of the remaining 26 seats at stake in the polls held in seven states yesterday.
After declaration of the results late night Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that he was thankful to all those who supported BJP candidates. Addressing media persons Mr Yogi said this is a major victory for the party in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the winners. He wished them a fruitful parliamentary career. In a tweet, Mr. Modi hoped that the newly elected MPs would effectively voice the aspirations of the states they represent.
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After loss of by-poll elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the BJP left no stone unturned to win the battle against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) when its candidate Anil Agarwal, a Ghaziabad-based businessman, defeated Mayawati’s candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar in a cliffhanger of a contest that went to the wire.
Others elected from Karnataka were I. Hanumanthaiah and Syed Naseer Hussain of the Congress and Rajeev Chandrashekar of the BJP.
West Bengal went on predicted lines as the ruling Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and while Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi backed by the Trinamool defeated CPI-M’s Rabin Deb. The four Trinamool candidates are sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen.
Out of a total of 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were already declared elected unopposed on March 15. Of the 33, the BJP won 17. These included seven union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar. The Congress had won four, the Biju Janata Dal three, the RJD, JD-U and TDP two each and the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the YSR Congress one each.
BJP’s winning spree in state Assembly polls have resulted in a steady rise in its numbers in the House, whose members are elected by assemblies, while the loss of power of the Congress in many states has led to a fall in its numerical strength.
