NDA Poised for Big Wins in Rajya Sabha Polls, Most Gains Expected from Bihar (X)
New Delhi: As the parties gear up for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections, which will be held on March 16, where 37 seats from 10 states will be filled, the ruling NDA is set to further strengthen its tally in the Upper House, based on the current strength of the member parties in their respective state assemblies.
These seats are becoming vacant because members’ terms end in April 2026, and MLAs from state assemblies will vote to fill them.
Important members of the Upper House who are set to retire include: Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh (JDU), NCP-SP MP Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP), former Lok Sabha deputy Speaker M Thambidurai (AIADMK) and Union ministers Ram Nath Thakur (JDU) and Ramdas Athawale (RPI-A).
The Election Commission on Wednesday released the complete schedule for a total of 37 seats in 10 states.
These elections are going to be very interesting because in big states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, many veteran leaders are retiring, like Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Harivansh, Kanimozhi etc.
The seats that are set to go for polls are spread across Maharashtra (7), Odisha (4), Telangana (2), Tamil Nadu (6), Chhattisgarh (2), West Bengal (5), Assam (3), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1) and Bihar (5).
Total of 10 states, 37 seats. Sharad Pawar is preparing to contest again in Maharashtra, so there will be a lot of drama there. In other states too, parties may already be engaged in manipulation.
As per reports, the BJP is set to win at least half of the 37 seats and is set to increase its strength in the Rajya Sabha.
According to the retiring MPs figure, the saffron party accounts for nine seats and its NDA allies for six, taking the total tally to 15. In the INDIA Bloc, Congress has four seats and bloc partners have 14 seats, which counts to 18 seats. Three seats belong to non-aligned parties and one seat is vacant.
Out of the five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar, three are held by the ruling NDA and two belong to the Janata Dal (United), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The incumbents, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh, are serving their second consecutive terms.
A few years ago Nitish Kumar had denied a third consecutive term to RCP Singh, a former national president, who had to resign from the Union Cabinet as a consequence.
The party had then justified the move, claiming that it was the party's policy not to award Rajya Sabha berths to the same person for more than two consecutive terms.
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