BJP still needs more MPs to pass crucial legislations

THe strength of the Bhartiya Janata Party-led subject popular confederation has soared to 314 seats after 20 TMC lawmakers connexion the nationalistic Citizens Party of India, and indicating that they will support the NDA, all eyes are on the two set of legislations that are on top of the agenda of the ruling dispensation.There are clear indications that the Narendra Modi government might try to reintroduce the legislations to increase the Lok Sabha’s strength from 543 to 815 seats and roll out the delimitation process on the basis of 2011 decennial census.It is also likely that the NDA will seek to push another pet bill of PM Narendra Modi, on simultaneous elections, that is pending before a Joint Committee of Parliament.But NDA managers need to shore up more numbers in both Houses of Parliament before this -- not an easy task, especially in the Lok Sabha, where the alliance is 46 seats short of the two-thirds mark required for these legislations.According to Article 368, a Constitution Amendment bill has to be “passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting,” While the NDA can easily meet the first condition , it has to work out a way to fulfil the second condition.In the Rajya Sabha, the NDA has 148 lawmakers. It can reach up to 155 seats after the ensuing biennial polls and the by-elections in West Bengal following the resignation of three TMC lawmakers from the Upper House. As the two-thirds majority mark in the Rajya Sabha is 164, the ruling side needs support from the BJD (5 MPs) and YSR Congress Party (7 MPs) to secure a majority.Even with 20 TMC MPs becoming allies of the BJP, the NDA needs another 46 MPs to breach the two-thirds majority mark of 360 in the Lok Sabha, which now has 540 lawmakers with three vacant seats.The Congress hit out at Union home minister Amit Shah, accusing him of trying to cobble a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha. “A rattled central Home Minister—who is a blot on the dignity of that office once held by Sardar Patel—has brazenly dragged Indian democracy to new lows. He has hatched a conspiracy to illegally engineer the defection of 20 TMC MPs and orchestrate their complete, utterly dubious merger with a political entity that hardly anyone has even heard of. This entity is ostensibly registered, but not recognized, and was formed only three years ago. The ‘Nationalist Citizens Party of India’ could ultimately end up as the second-largest party in the NDA, even surpassing the long-established and seasoned TDP and JD(U). In fact, the TDP and JD(U) should protest such clandestine manoeuvres and the vile manner in which their standing is being diminished,” tweeted Congres leader Jairam Ramesh.“This bizarre manoeuvre is part of the central Home Minister’s strategy to cobble together a two-thirds majority for the NDA in the Lok Sabha. As long as he remains in that position, decency, propriety, and fidelity to constitutional values and principles will continue to erode and remain under threat every single day,” he added.Any possible support from the DMK, which has 22 Lok Sabha MPs, and has exited the INDIA bloc of opposition parties can bridge that gap further to 24 seats. The DMK’s exit from INDIA came after the Congress decided to support the C Joseph Vijay’s TVK government, putting an end to its partnership with the Dravidian party.To be sure, DMK has so far steadfastly opposed the delimitation bill that allots more seats to north Indian states while maintaining the current ratio between the states. DMK MP and former telecom minister A Raja told media last week, “The DMK is in principle opposed to the delimitation bill in its present format. We have to see what are the changes.”The DMK leadership also indicated that there will be internal discussions in the party before any decision on this.Under the plan, Uttar Pradesh will have 120 Lok Sabha seats—a 50% hike from the current 80 seats—but Tamil Nadu would have 59 seats from its current tally of 39. DMK skipped the INDIA bloc alliance on June 8, but tweeted : “... – on issues raised by other parties included in this meeting that harm the nation’s welfare, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will always raise its voice.”“It is not that the NDA can reach the magic figure overnight. In Lok Sabha, the government needs to bridge a wide gap to pass any Constitution amendment bill,” said a BJP lawmaker who asked not to be named.The easiest way for the NDA is to enter into some tacit understanding with Samajwadi Party, which has 37 lawmakers. But SP remains a key constituent of the INDIA bloc and voted against the delimitation-related bills in April.The one nation, one election bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, was referred to a joint committee for review.The 20 TMC MPs have joined a little-known NCPI party and vowed to support the NDA. One of them, NCPI president and MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, “We are going to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. “