Rajya Sabha numbers still stacked against BJP

The new Rajya Sabha, with the election of 59 members in place of those retiring now, is more representative of the politics at the state level than the old House. This is so because the Rajya Sabha reflects the political balance as it exists in the states, and does not always align with the picture at the national level. There is often a time lag in catching up with the national picture, and this is healthy because it acts as a check on the Lok Sabha. This has been seen in the recent past with the NDA, which does not enjoy a majority in the Upper House, being constrained in getting business done there. It has improved its position now, with the BJP increasing its strength from 58 to 69. The Congress tally has come down from 54 to 50. The NDA is more comfortable in the House, but is far from dominating it. It may even find the going not easy with some of its erstwhile allies like the Telugu Desam turning hostile lately.  

Rajya Sabha elections also provide pointers to the strategies being adopted by parties in other fights elsewhere. The contest for the 10 seats in UP was the most interesting in this respect as it provided a test of the newly formed alliance between the SP and the BSP, which bested the BJP in two recent Lok Sabha by-elections. The BJP won the 10th seat which should have gone to the BSP, through defections and cross voting. The point that was sought to be driven home was that the BSP should not expect reciprocal support from the SP in all elections. The BJP wanted to create a rift between the two. But BSP leader Mayawati has refused to draw a negative lesson and has reaffirmed her commitment to the new alliance. Two other interesting contests were in West Bengal and Jharkhand. In the former, the Trinamool Congress helped a Congress candidate to win, though this was more on personal than political considerations. In Jharkhand again, the
Congress won with backing from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) when regional parties in many states are coming under the sway of the BJP.

This round of elections also saw the usual drama, cases of cross-voting, allegations of violation of rules, and expulsions of members by parties. Karnataka saw a protest boycott by the JD(S). The elections in most states also witnessed the unhealthy trend of candidates winning from states other than their states of domicile, which dilutes the character of the Rajya Sabha as the Council of States. Unfortunately, this trend might only get stronger.