Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament has a maximum of 250 members. The members are elected for a term of 6 years. Out of the 250 members, 12 are nominated by the President of India. Members are elected by the legislatures of the states and Union Territories. They are elected by single transferable votes through ‘Open Ballot’
The present strength of Rajya Sabha is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union Territories.
At present, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has the majority of members in Rajya Sabha. Out of which, Bharatiya Janata Party has 87 members.
In opposition, there are 128 members in the Rajya Sabha. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has a total of 60 members. Out of the 60 members, 40 are from the Indian National Congress (INC).
By the end of 2022, tenure of a total of 96 members of the Rajya Sabha will end. The BJP-led NDA party is aiming to gain the majority of the seats. If this happens, the NDA party will have a sole majority in the upper house of Parliament. This will have many effects on decision making.
Many bills are still pending in the Rajya Sabha. The sole majority means that many of the important bills will get approval.
Many bills by various Ministries are still pending on the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament. A total of 20 bills are pending in the Rajya Sabha. They include:
The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill and The National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020. Both the bills are from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 is from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020, introduced by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Major Port Authorities Bill 2020 is from the Ministry of Shipping.
Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020. This bill is from the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is from the Ministry of Finance.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020 is from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 from Ministry of Civil Aviation is still pending in the Rajya Sabha.
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 from the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The Code on Social Security, 2019 from Ministry of Labour and Employment is still pending.
The Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019. This bill is from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The Anti Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019 forwarded by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Industrial Relations Code Bill of 2019 from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The Dam Safety Bill, 2019 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 from the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019 of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 from the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019 is from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Members of the Rajya Sabha from Assam:
Assam has been electing 7 seats since 1956. The members are directly elected by the state legislators of Assam. The number of the seven seats allocated to each party is proportional to the legislators’ number at the time of nomination. The current members of Rajya Sabha from Assam are:
Birendra Prasad Baishya: He is from Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) political party. His date of appointment was on June 15, 2019. His tenure will end on June 14, 2025.
Bhubaneswar Kalita: On April 10, 2020, he was elected to Rajya Sabha as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. His date of retirement will end on April 9, 2026.
Kamakhya Prasad Tasa: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate was elected on June 15, 2019. His tenure as a member of Rajya Sabha will end on 14 June 2025.
Ripun Bora: He is an Indian National Congress (INC) candidate. Ripun Bora was elected as a member of Rajya Sabha on April 3, 2016. His tenure will end on April 2, 2022.
Ranee Narah: Ranee Narah was also elected as a member of Rajya Sabha on April 3, 2016. She is also a candidate of Indian National Congress and her date of retirement is on April 2, 2022.
Biswajit Daimary: He is a candidate of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and was elected on April 10, 2020. His tenure as a member of Rajya Sabha will end on April 9, 2026.
Ajit Kumar Bhuyan: He is an independent candidate from Assam. His candidature is supported by both INC and AIUDF. He is an open critic of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
He was elected on April 10, 2020, and his tenure a Rajya Sabha member will end on April 9, 2026.
Among the 7 members of Rajya Sabha from Assam, the tenure of two members from the INC will end on April 2, 2022.
As per speculations, BJP party aims to occupy the 2 seats after April 2, 2022. According to reports, BJP party is capable of occupying the 2 seats.
There is another speculation that the BPF party is likely to break from the BJP-led alliance.