DNA Edit: Upper hand in Rajya Sabha

The BJP’s political fortunes are increasingly looking up, and the party is on a golden run as it emerged as the single-largest formation in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday with 58 seats.

It’s a significant achievement because for the first time since Independence the saffron party has crossed this milestone. The challenger and the main Opposition party, the Congress, now lags by one seat. With at least two assured wins — BJP President Amit Shah and Union textile minister Smriti Irani — in the three RS seats up for elections in Gujarat, the numbers are clearly stacked in its favour.

Looking back, it was a tough task for the saffron outfit as, at one point, it struggled with a united and hostile Opposition in the Upper House where many crucial bills proposed by the NDA were shot down. It already enjoyed a brute majority in the Lower House, but that wasn’t enough in the grand scheme of things. The latest feather in the cap clears many a thorn on the path of legislation and governance. What has undoubtedly helped the BJP in its quest for RS supremacy was its recent alliance with JD(U), since the latter with nine MPs in the Upper House, has added considerable muscle to BJP’s clout.

The challenge with the RS arithmetic is that members keep retiring in batches at regular intervals, so both the Opposition and the BJP-dominated NDA will have to be on guard and devise an infallible strategy. However, with the BJP calling the shots — either alone or in alliance — in 18 states, the Opposition has a slim chance of upsetting the apple cart.

The Congress has shrunk drastically, holding on to the reins in just six states. Such has been the erosion of power that Sonia Gandhi’s candidate Ahmed Patel is likely to receive a drubbing in the RS polls. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are a foregone conclusion.

The Modi juggernaut has already decimated most of the Opposition. Some regional chieftains can attempt to offer resistance to protect their bastions, but the story at the hustings will be scripted by the BJP. With an absolute majority in both Houses of Parliament, the PM and the party can focus on nation-building. It’s important for the Congress to stay out of power. It has to learn the hard way from its blunders to rise from the ashes. The day now belongs to the BJP.