Maharashtra and Haryana exit polls signal win for BJP-- and that means more seats in the Rajya Sabha where Modi is still short of absolute majority

• The likely victory for the BJP and its allies in Maharashtra and Haryana is key to gaining more strength in the Rajya Sabha.
• The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of Indian Parliament where the ruling BJP government is 17 seats short of majority, after being in power for 66 months.
• Maharashtra and Haryana will have 9 vacancies coming up in April 2020 and today's victory will allow BJP to strengthen the grip in the Parliament.

After 66 months in power, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is 17 seats short of majority in the Rajya Sabha. However, the chase to the halfway mark in the upper house of Indian Parliament may be cut short by the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) splendid victory projected by all exit polls in both Maharashtra and Haryana.

The average of all exit polls in Maharashtra have estimated 218 seats for BJP and its allies including Shiv Sena, and 57 seats for Congress and its allies including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In Haryana, BJP is expected to 63 of 90 seats in the state assembly.

Stronger the victory at the state level, more seats a party can bag in the Rajya Sabha. The two states, Maharashtra and Haryana, will have 9 vacancies coming up in April 2020 and the thumping victory in the two state elections will allow BJP to strengthen the grip in the Parliament.

Upcoming Rajya Sabha vacancies from Maharashtra



Upcoming Rajya Sabha vacancies from Haryana

In addition to these nine seats from Maharashtra and Haryana, two more seats will be vacated from Jharkhand, which will go to polls in early 2020.

The Narendra Modi government has been vying for a majority in the Rajya Sabha since it came to power in 2014. The lack of absolute majority in the upper house has been a hurdle for many of its legislative agenda. It is expected that the Modi government will have complete sway over both houses of Parliament by 2021.

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