TEST OF METTLE
Recent wins of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections will not give it the legislative muscle to push critical bills through the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP now covers 19 of 29 states, and 67 per cent of the country’s population. In the Lok Sabha, the party runs a majority government with 280 members. PRS Legislative Research says the BJP’s victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh demonstrate the following: Four members of Parliament from Gujarat will retire from the Rajya Sabha in 2018. Of them, the BJP will gain two seats and the Congress two.
Himachal Pradesh has only one seat in the Rajya Sabha, and the BJP’s victory will have no significant impact on its position in the Upper House. The BJP now has 57 members in a 239member Rajya Sabha as on December 20, 2017, according to government data. This will increase to 70 with the addition of nine members from Uttar Pradesh, two from Gujarat, one each from Manipur and Goa in 2018, the analysis showed. The BJP will need greater representation.
Crucial Bills coming up this session
The ongoing winter session will have 14 sittings over 21 days. It will see a total of 39 Bills, of which 25 will be considered for passing, 14 for introduction, consideration and passing, and one for withdrawal. The Uniform Civil Code Bill, which needs a constitutional amendment, will require 167 votes to be passed in the Rajya Sabha and 271 in the Lok Sabha.
BJP dominates in 2 of 5 states that have 100 seats in Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha members get elected from states and the representation of a party in a state assembly affects its strength in the House.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance has 78 seats, including six from its ally, the Telugu Desam Party. The opposition UPA has 74. Membership of the Rajya Sabha is determined by the population of the state. The top five states based on population — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal — have 100 seats in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP is in power in two states — Maharashtra and UP — among these, and is an alliance partner in Bihar.