Delhi Ordinance: How Numbers Stack Up In Rajya Sabha

The Delhi services ordinance along with the Manipur violence issue is set to dominate the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The Monsoon session kicked off on Thursday, days after both the ruling NDA and the Opposition parties had separate meetings in Delhi and Bengaluru to devise plans ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Delhi Ordinance

The BJP-led central government had in May brought an ordinance on the transfer and posting of bureaucrats in Delhi, virtually negating an earlier Supreme Court verdict that had given the elected government in Delhi the control over services matters.

The ordinance seeks to set up a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre. Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the May 11 verdict of the apex court.

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is opposing the ordinance on the transfer and posting of bureaucrats in Delhi . The Congress has made it clear that it will not back the ordinance and will oppose any attempt of the central government to "sabotage federalism" in the country.

How Numbers Are Stacked Up In Rajya Sabha?

Let's see how many seats the ruling and opposition parties have.

The current strength of the Rajya Sabha is 237, with the majority mark set at 119. The ruling party BJP has 92 members. The support of its allies and nominated members will take the NDA's strength to 111 in the Upper House of the Parliament.

Whereas the Congress has 30 members and the combined strength of the anti-BJP parties stands at 98.

The key players in this game are: Naveen Patnaik's BJD (9 seats), Jagan Reddy's YSRCP (9 seats) and KC Chandrasekhar Rao's BRS (7 seats).

Even if the BRS joins hands with the Opposition parties on this issue, its strength will reach 105. So, YSRCP and BJD's support will decide whether the Centre can successfully pass the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.

At this stage, YSRCP and BJD have not announced their stand on the issue and there are highly unlikely to support the anti-BJP alliance. What they might do is stage a walkout when the contentious bill was being voted upon in the Rajya Sabha.

It will bring down the majority mark, thereby helping the NDA to pass the litmus test.