In a remarkable series of election results, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched 30 seats out of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats up for contention on Tuesday, February 27, 2023. This includes 20 seats won unopposed and an additional 10 secured in the elections. These victories bring the BJP’s total in the Rajya Sabha to 97 and the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) count to 117 — merely four seats shy of a majority in the 240-member House. The biennial elections were necessitated by the retirement of 50 members on April 2 and another six on April 3.
The election was not without its drama and upsets, particularly in Himachal Pradesh where Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost his seat due to cross-voting by six MLAs from his own party, tipping the Congress government into a precarious position. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP solidified its presence by securing eight of the contested seats, leaving the Samajwadi Party with only two, despite having three candidates. In Karnataka, as predicted, the Congress won three seats and the BJP one, even with Congress candidates accumulating more votes than their presence in the assembly.
Post-elections, the BJP remains the single-largest party in the Rajya Sabha followed by the Congress with 29 members. These developments hint at a shifting power balance and the growing clout of the BJP in the Upper House, reflecting potential changes in the political landscape of India.