RS polls: Amit Shah's victory adds to BJP's political heft, but not numbers

In a house of 245 members, BJP now has 58, one more than the 57 of the Congress at No 2 position

IANS  |  New Delhi 

Amit Shah
BJP National President Amit Shah | PTI Photo

The victory of President Amit Shah, who makes his debut in Parliament, and Smriti Irani's re-from give the party political heft in the but do not add to its numbers.

The had already become the single largest group in the Upper House after Vinay Tendulkar won the biennial from Goa, defeating the Congress' Shantaram Naik.

Tribal leader Sampatiya Uikey, elected last month in a by-from Madhya Pradesh, only replaced her own party's Anil Dave, a Union Minister, who passed away in May.

In a house of 245 members, the now has 58 -- one more than the 57 of the at No.2 position.

The of Sonia Gandhi's political aide in a cliffhanger of a contest in helped the party and Patel retain the seat and gives no addition to its numbers.

For the BJP, Irani retains her seat while Shah would take the place of party member Dilipbhai Pandya who retires on August 18.

Similarly, in West Bengal where biennial elections to the were held, the Trinamool retained five seats while its ally retained one.

Among the five candidates, the Trinamool replaced was D. Bandyopadhyay. Its new candidates Manas Bhuiyan and Shankar Chhetri won the elections, in which the TMC took away a CPI-M seat being vacated by Sitaram Yechury, whose party declined to renominate him.

The may have gained in recent elections but the coalition headed by it will still lag behind the opposition in the for some time to come. Along with allies, the accounts for 101 members. This figure includes 13 of the To this can be added the new ally JD-U, which has 10 members in the

There could be doubts over the loyalty of two members - Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar Ansari, who have expressed reservations over their party chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to go with the

Since the 2014 victory in the polls, the has a Prime Minister whose party has a majority on its own in the for the first time in 30 years, besides the President and the Vice President of its choice.

But to have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, the party may have to wait for some more time.

On the opposition side, the has 57 on its own. The others opposed to the government are 56 in number. Together the opposition accounts for 113 members.

Those not committed to either side account for 13. They include Biju Janata Dal (8), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (3), Indian Lok Dal (1) and YSR Party (1). There are six Independents, most of whom side with the government.

The Upper House has two vacancies, including the one caused by the resignation of BSP chief

Following is the strength of parties in the after the recent elections:

BJP: 58

Congress: 57

Samajwadi Party: 18

AIADMK: 13

Trinamool Congress: 13

Janata Dal-United: 10

Biju Janata Dal: 8

CPI-M: 7

Telugu Desam: 6

Bahujan Samaj Party: 5

Nationalist Party: 5

DMK: 4

Shiv Sena: 3

Shiromani Akali Dal: 3

Telangana Rashtra Samithi: 3

Rashtriya Janata Dal: 3

Peoples Democratic Party: 2

CPI: 1

Indian Lok Dal: 1

Sikkim Democratic Front: 1

Bodoland People's Front: 1

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha: 1

Kerala Congress-Mani: 1

Republican Party of India-A: 1

Janata Dal-Secular: 1

Indian Union Muslim League: 1

Naga People's Front: 1

YSR Congress: 1

Independents: 6

Nominated: 8

Vacancies: One each in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh