NEW DELHI: BJP's strength in Rajya Sabha has reduced to 86 with the completion of the term of four nominated members. This is the first time in seven years that the number of BJP members has decreased.

NDA strength will be reduced to 101. 113 seats are required for a majority in the current 245-member Rajya Sabha. The central government will have to seek help from outside the party to pass bills and so on in the Parliament session starting on 22nd.

Sonal Mansingh, Mahesh Jethmalani, Rakesh Sinha and Ram Shakal completed their terms on July 13. There are currently 19 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha. Four of these are from Jammu and Kashmir. These will remain vacant until the assembly elections are held. Four are nominated members. Elections will be held soon for the remaining 11 seats. These are the vacancies that occurred when 10 people were elected to the Lok Sabha and K Keshav Rao of BRS joined the Congress. Kesava Rao's Telangana seat will be won by the state's ruling party Congress.

Political picture of the states

• The Congress will lose the seat in Rajasthan that fell vacant due to the resignation of AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal. BJP will get the seat
• Sonia Gandhi recently returned to the Rajya Sabha. The party does not have the strength to elect one more person to the assembly
• The BJP has an advantage in one seat in Haryana, where elections are being held to fill the vacancy caused by Dipender Singh Hooda's election to the Lok Sabha.
• Meanwhile, the Congress is also pinning its hopes on the seat due to the changing political situation in Haryana, where assembly elections will be held in October.
• BJP may get two seats each in the states of Bihar, Maharashtra and Assam and one seat each in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Tripura.