Numbers game set to change in Rajya Sabha as 53 MPs retire

New Delhi: The upper house of Parliament will see as many as 53 members retire on Friday.

The number is one of the highest in recent memory.

Of the 53 Rajya Sabha MPs retiring today, 16 are from the main opposition Congress - the party has a total of 65 members in the upper house.

The Times of India reported that it is unlikely the Congress will be able to send the same number of MPs back to the Rajya Sabha.

From the ruling BJP, five union ministers — Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and YS Choudhry — will also retire today.

However, all of them are likely to be re-elected as Rajya Sabha MPs.

Further, the party is all set to increase its numbers in the upper house but will still not be able to secure majority.

The massive majority in Rajasthan will help the BJP boost its numbers in the Rajya Sabha.

The daily reported that among other parties, the Samajwadi Party will also see its numbers rise in the Rajya Sabha while its main rival BSP will suffer.