india

Updated: Jun 21, 2019 00:10 IST

The surprise addition of four Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fold has taken the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) closer to a majority in the Upper House, and in a position to clear key legislations with the help of friendly parties.

In its previous term, the Narendra Modi government struggled to push legislations such as the Triple Talaq bill and amendments to Citizenship Act as they were blocked by the Opposition, which enjoys a majority in the Rajya Sabha, whose members are elected by the state assemblies.

But the inclusion of four MPs from the TDP is being seen by experts as a masterstroke that will drastically alter equations in the Upper House. The NDA’s current strength stands at 105, and with the four inclusions, this goes up to 109. As the NDA also gets the backing from three nominated members, it takes the effective number to 112.

The Rajya Sabha, which has 245 members in all, has 236 sitting lawmakers at the moment with bypolls due in nine vacant seats – one in Tamil Nadu, two in Gujarat, two in Bihar and four in Odisha . These polls are set to make the NDA richer by at least 4 MPs (one in each state on the current strength of the assemblies) and take its effective tally to 116 -- seven short of the majority mark of 123 in the House.

But the five members from Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been friendly to the BJP in some key legislations such as the Triple Talaq Bill and Citizenship Amendment Bill, are likely to grow to eight after the bypolls. If they continue to stand by the NDA, they could allow the Narendra Modi government to pass important bills in Parliament without the help of Opposition parties such as the Congress or the Trinamool Congress.

The NDA will keep a close eye on next month’s biennial polls in five Rajya Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Currently, the AIADMK, the BJP’s southern ally, holds four out these seats. It will likely lose one as the AIADMK is has 123 MLAs against the Opposition’s 109 in the state assembly.

Then, in February next year, the NDA will get another supporter as KTS Tulsi, nominated to Rajya Sabha during the United Progressive Alliance, will complete his term, allowing the ruling dispensation to replace him with someone of their choice.

The biggest shift, however, will happen after the assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand elections due this year. A total of 54 seats in the Upper House will fall vacant in March 2020, including seven from Maharashtra, two each from Jharkhand and Haryana.

If the BJP does well in these three assembly polls, it has a chance to improve the NDA tally further. For a majority on its own, the BJP have to wait till November 2020. BJP working president JP Nadda said: “These leaders will add strength to the BJP and we will be able to expand our base in Andhra Pradesh.”

Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said, “It seems like the BJP is on a poaching spree across India. Certainly, not in the true spirit of democracy nor in the true spirit of a victory.”