NEW DELHI: BJP’s performance in four states will give its alliance at the Centre a free hand to choose its nominee for the Rashtrapati Bhavan as the party has enough numbers for its candidate to win the presidential election due in July.
Though NDA doesn’t have a majority in the Rajya Sabhathe alliance by virtue of its comfortable position in the Lok Sabha and its majority in 17 assemblies, including in the biggest one of Uttar Pradesh and the UT of Puducherryis clearly on a strong wicket.
The President is elected by an electoral college comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of assemblies of all states and UTs of Delhi and Puducherry. Among states, UP has the highest value of votes in the electoral college so the BJP alliance’s victory in UP gives its presidential nominee an edge.
In 2017, the BJP and its allies won 325 out of 403 assembly seats in UP and 57 out of 70 in Uttarakhand, putting the alliance at a position of strength in the President’s polls backed by impressive numbers in the Lok Sabha. Though both the states this time have not given that many MLAs to the alliance, the majority won by the NDA in these two states will put it ahead of its rivals in the electoral college.
Besides, the state poll results may also help NDA in retaining its numbers in the Rajya Sabha which will see 75 vacancies this year due to retirement of members over the next few months. The Alliance is expected to get majority in the Upper House next year when the BJP would be able to cross the figure of 100 on its own if newly nominated members come on board. As many as 73 out of the 75 seats will be filled before the presidential election.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will, however, be the biggest gainer in the Upper House as it would be able to send as many as six MPs to Rajya Sabha from Punjab this year. It’s tally will then be increased from three to nine, making it the fifth largest party in the House. As many as seven Rajya Sabha seats will go to polls this year.
Except the seven nominated members, 66 MPs out of these 73 will cast their votes in the Presidential poll. UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand together have 19 seats which are to be vacant before the presidential polls.
The remaining seats are to be vacant from states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Had the BJP not won UP and Uttarakhand, it would have been difficult for the party to retain its current position in the Upper House by the end of this year. UP will see 11 vacancies in Rajya Sabha in early July. Five of these 11 seats are currently held by the BJP.
Currently, states/UT such as West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil NaduOdisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi are being ruled by different opposition parties. The opposition parties, mostly the regional ones, may together tilt the balance in favour of the joint opposition candidate if they decide to field a common candidate for the next presidential election. But, this option doesn’t appear to be a possibility now due to BJP’s win in UP, Uttarakhand , Goa and Manipur.
Though NDA doesn’t have a majority in the Rajya Sabhathe alliance by virtue of its comfortable position in the Lok Sabha and its majority in 17 assemblies, including in the biggest one of Uttar Pradesh and the UT of Puducherryis clearly on a strong wicket.
The President is elected by an electoral college comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of assemblies of all states and UTs of Delhi and Puducherry. Among states, UP has the highest value of votes in the electoral college so the BJP alliance’s victory in UP gives its presidential nominee an edge.
In 2017, the BJP and its allies won 325 out of 403 assembly seats in UP and 57 out of 70 in Uttarakhand, putting the alliance at a position of strength in the President’s polls backed by impressive numbers in the Lok Sabha. Though both the states this time have not given that many MLAs to the alliance, the majority won by the NDA in these two states will put it ahead of its rivals in the electoral college.
Besides, the state poll results may also help NDA in retaining its numbers in the Rajya Sabha which will see 75 vacancies this year due to retirement of members over the next few months. The Alliance is expected to get majority in the Upper House next year when the BJP would be able to cross the figure of 100 on its own if newly nominated members come on board. As many as 73 out of the 75 seats will be filled before the presidential election.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will, however, be the biggest gainer in the Upper House as it would be able to send as many as six MPs to Rajya Sabha from Punjab this year. It’s tally will then be increased from three to nine, making it the fifth largest party in the House. As many as seven Rajya Sabha seats will go to polls this year.
Except the seven nominated members, 66 MPs out of these 73 will cast their votes in the Presidential poll. UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand together have 19 seats which are to be vacant before the presidential polls.
The remaining seats are to be vacant from states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Had the BJP not won UP and Uttarakhand, it would have been difficult for the party to retain its current position in the Upper House by the end of this year. UP will see 11 vacancies in Rajya Sabha in early July. Five of these 11 seats are currently held by the BJP.
Currently, states/UT such as West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil NaduOdisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi are being ruled by different opposition parties. The opposition parties, mostly the regional ones, may together tilt the balance in favour of the joint opposition candidate if they decide to field a common candidate for the next presidential election. But, this option doesn’t appear to be a possibility now due to BJP’s win in UP, Uttarakhand , Goa and Manipur.