New Delhi: Twelve candidates have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in elections for vacant seats in the Upper House of Parliament. This includes nine from the BJP, two from its NDA allies, and one from Congress.


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With the BJP increasing its numbers in the upper House of Parliament and its allies also gaining strength, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) now holds a majority. This boost will help the ruling alliance get bills passed smoothly.


The individuals elected unopposed are Union Ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu from Rajasthan and George Kurien from Madhya Pradesh. Additionally,  Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Telangana.


Other BJP's unopposed candidates named Ranjan Dass and Rameshwar Teli from Assam, Manan Kumar Mishra from Bihar, Kiran Chaudhary from Haryana, Dhiryasheel Patil from Maharashtra, Mamata Mohanta from Odisha and Rajeeb Bhattacharjee from Tripura.


NCP leader Nitin Patil also got elected from Maharashtra and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha has been elected from Bihar. NCP and RLM both come under NDA. 


Before the Rajya Sabha results, the NDA had the support of 110 MPs, including nominated members. This number has now increased up to 121. With the Upper House of Parliament now having 237 members, the majority mark is 119. There are eight vacancies including four from Jammu and Kashmir.


Following the result, the NDA's strengthened majority in the Rajya Sabha is expected to help the BJP get key legislations such as Waqf (Amendment) Bill get smoothly passed in the Upper House of Parliament.