Rajya Sabha Elections 2026: BSP wiped out, opposition's strength reduced (Photo-X)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. The year 2026 will prove to be a big upheaval in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament. Elections will be held on a total of about 75 seats in April, June and November this year, which include many senior leaders and 6 Union ministers. After these retirements, speculations about cabinet reshuffle in Modi government have intensified. The biggest blow will be to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which after the Lok Sabha will now be completely out of the Rajya Sabha. At the same time, the strength of the opposition will further weaken in the Upper House, while the position of the ruling NDA is expected to strengthen.
The tenure of these 6 Union Ministers is ending
Of these, the tenure of Puri and Verma will end in November 2026. Puri will be around 75 years of age at the time of retirement, due to which questions are being raised on his comeback. The seats of other ministers will be vacant in April-June.
30-31 BJP MPs retire, but number expected to increase
Currently BJP's strength in Rajya Sabha is at a historic high of 103. Of the 75 retiring MPs, about 30-31 are from BJP. Out of 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 8 belong to BJP, which will be vacant in November. Due to its strong position in the Assembly, BJP can regain most of these seats, which will further increase its strength in the Rajya Sabha.
8 Congress MPs are retiring, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge (from Karnataka, June 2026). Other prominent names include former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, Digvijay Singh, Sharad Pawar and Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh.
Historic crisis for BSP: 'Zero' for the first time in Parliament
The most shocking situation will be that of BSP. The party's lone Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam (from Uttar Pradesh) will retire in November 2026. After this, BSP will have no representatives left in both Lok Sabha (where there is already no MP) and Rajya Sabha.
The BSP, founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984, had maintained continuous representation in Parliament since 1989. This will be the first time after 36-41 years that the party will be completely out of Parliament. Since BSP has only 1 MLA in the UP Assembly, it is impossible to win the Rajya Sabha seat (37 MLAs are needed for one seat). This is being considered a serious political crisis for the party.
The results of the Rajya Sabha elections will strengthen the legislative agenda of the Modi government, while the voice of the opposition may further weaken. Further investigation and nomination will clarify the situation further.