BJP seats increased in RS, Congress drops to lowest

The ruling NDA dispensation further consolidated its position in Rajya Sabha crossing the 100-mark after nine BJP candidates, including Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, were elected unopposed to the Upper House on Monday. On the other hand, the Congress, which dominated the Upper House for a long time, is now down to 38 seats - its lowest ever tally - in the 242-member House after it lost two more seats to the BJP in the current elections.

Out of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs- 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand - nine were won by BJP candidates, including Union Urban Development Minister Puri, taking the party's tally to 92 seats. It was a gain of six as three of the candidates were re-elected. NDA constituent JD(U) has five seats.The ruling alliance also has some smaller parties like RPI-Athawale, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Mizo National Front (MNF), National People's Party (NPP), Naga People's Front (NPF), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Bodoland People's Front (BPF), which have one seat each, totalling seven seats.

The NDA tally will now be 104 and it can get the support of four nominated members. The half-way mark is 121 in Rajya Sabha whose current strength is 242.There are 31 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh of which 22 will now be with the BJP, five with the Samajwadi Party and three with the BSP. The Congress will have only one seat.In Uttarakhand, senior BJP leader Naresh Bansal was declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.