The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reached the landmark of having 100 members in the Rajya Sabha for the first time in its history after winning one seat each in Assam, Tripura, and Nagaland in the recently held elections.
The BJP lost its solitary seat from Punjab but won one each from the three northeastern states in the recently held biennial polls in six states and for 13 Rajya Sabha seats.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won all five of the seats in Punjab.
Even though the tally falls short of the majority in the 245 member House, the tally goes on to show the rapid rise of BJP since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led it to the majority mark in Lok Sabha in the 2014 elections.
In 2014, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha was only 55 but it has since risen steadily with the party coming back in power in several states.
Notably, Congress was the last party to have 100 or more seats in the Upper House in 1990 when they had 108 members. The numbers gradually decreased with the onset of coalition governments at the centre which continued till 2014.
The party could however fall below the elite mark with polls to around 52 more seats to be held soon with reverses in states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, the saffron party is expected to win at least eight of the 11 vacancies in Uttar Pradesh with five of the 11 retiring Rajya Sabha members from the state being from the BJP.
