In Rajya Sabha, 43 of 61 newly-elected MPs are first-timers

Three-fourth or 43 of the 61 leaders elected in the latest edition of elections to the Rajya Sabha are first-timers in the Upper House, including Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia and AIADMK's Thambi Durai.

Only 12 retiring members were re-elected while six MPs with past experience of the Upper House returned to Rajya Sabha after a gap.

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Almost 72% of the MPs newly elected are first-timers, an analysis by a senior official in the Research Division of Rajya Sabha Secretariat showed.

Welcoming the new MPs, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday that the 61 newly-elected MPs representing as many as 20 political parties besides independents highlight the diversity of our polity and at the same time our resolute sense of unity of purpose and action.

"The elected represent a healthy mix of veterans and first-timers to the House, all bound by a solemn commitment to the transformation of our country and make the 21st century as India’s. I hope that all the elected make good use of this opportunity over the next six years," Naidu added.

There were 61 vacancies in 20 states and out of this, 42 were elected unopposed. Among the unopposed, the number of newcomers was 28.

Of the remaining 19 seats for which elections were held on Friday, 15 who are elected are first-timers. There were 28 candidates for these 19 seats of which 24 were never members of Rajya Sabha.

"While the 61 retiring members have a total experience of 95 terms ranging from one to four terms in the Rajya Sabha, the winners come with a total experience of only 32 terms resulting in a decline in the total experience of 63 terms," the analysis showed.

Besides Kharge, Scindia and Thambi Durai, prominent leaders to enter Rajya Sabha for the first time also included Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal and former Andhra Pradesh Speaker K R Suresh Reddy (TRS).

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Former prime minister Deve Gowda, JMM patriarch Shibu Soren and Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi are among half-a-dozen leaders who are re-entering Rajya Sabha after a gap. All these three leaders had lost the last Lok Sabha elections.

Among the 12 sitting MPs who were re-elected include Deputy Chairman Harivansh, NCP chief Sharad Yadav, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Congress' Digvijay Singh, TRS' Dr K Keshav Rao and DMK's Tiruchi Siva.

The state-wise analysis showed that four members who retired from Karnataka had a total experience of nine terms in Rajya Sabha, while the new incumbents have a total experience of only one term. Gowda had earlier represented Rajya Sabha when he was the prime minister.

In case of Maharashtra, while seven members with a collective experience of 10 terms retired, the new incumbents account for an experience of only two terms in the re-election of Pawar and Athawale.