RS polls: BJP wins 28/59 seats, but short of majority
Yesterday, the BJP-led NDA moved closer to a working majority in the RS, improving its tally from 58 to 68 seats. Notably, its biggest gain came from UP, where it won 9 of 10 seats and crushed SP-BSP's new bonhomie. The Opposition Congress won nine seats and lost five. Counting was delayed in UP, Karnataka and Jharkhand, where elections were marred by controversies.
What happened with respect to the seats polled from UP?
UP's contest was undoubtedly nail-biting, where BJP secured a clear victory in 8 of 10 seats, while 1 seat was bagged by SP's Jaya Bachchan. However, the tenth seat saw cross-voting by SP/BSP members. BJP's candidate Anil Agrawal got 16 votes and BSP's Bhimrao Ambedkar 32, falling short of the required 37. Considering BJP's majority in the assembly, Agrawal won with second-preference votes.
Why was there drama in Karnataka and Jharkhand?
In Karnataka, Congress won three seats and BJP, one. Of 225 legislators, only 188 legislators voted. All but two JD(S) MLAs cast their votes, as the party boycotted the polls, alleging electoral malpractices. In Jharkhand too, there were allegations of cross-voting and sabotage. BJP easily won one seat and Congress's candidate Dhiraj Sahu snatched victory from BJP's second candidate by a fraction of votes.
Now, what does this signify for BJP?
After the polls, the BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member house. Apart from BJP's 68 seats, its allies have 18. So, it can now muster a "working" majority with the help of friendly parties, independents and nominated members.
