With big Uttar Pradesh win, BJP is stronger in Rajya Sabha

It is for a reason that Uttar Pradesh is often referred to as the kingmaker state in the country. The massive victory in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls has just given the BJP more power in the Rajya Sabha. Having 53 members in the Rajya Sabha currently, the BJP now has the power to increase the number of their members to beat the Congress'.

Uttar Pradesh currently has 31 members in the Rajya Sabha, the largest representation of any state. Out of the 31, 18 are from the Samajwadi party, 6 from the Bahujan Samaj, 1 independent and 3 each from BJP and Congress. By winning 300 plus seats in the assembly elections on Saturday the BJP has pretty much won the Rajya Sabha game from Uttar Pradesh.

Each candidate needs to poll 34 votes to win a seat and the BJP can now comfortably elect 8 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh. With the support of other parties and spare votes of legislators, a 9th candidate may also be a possibility. For the Congress, SP and the BSP the numbers come as a bane. Combined legislators of the SP and the Congress can only elect 3 members to the Rajya Sabha and the BSP may not be able to elect a single member without the support of other parties.

OneIndia News