The 2026 Rajya Sabha elections, held in phases on 16 March, 18 June, 24 July, 16 October and 12 November, have increased the strength of the National Democratic Alliance in the upper house. Among the seats contested in this cycle, the NDA rose from 41 to 54, a gain of 13, while the INDIA bloc fell from 24 to 19. The BJP went from 30 to 38 seats and the Congress from 8 to 11. The phases are spread over eight months because members' terms end at different times in different states, and the last round, on 12 November, is still to come. In the March round, members from states other than Bihar, Haryana and Odisha were elected unopposed, so many seats were decided without a contest.
The argument that the cycle strengthened the government is clear from the table. The BJP gained eight seats, the TDP rose from one to three, and two independents, Dilip Ray and Parimal Nathwani, won, the latter with BJP backing. The NDA also gained 13 seats against a loss of five for the INDIA bloc, a net swing of 18 in a house where ordinary legislation needs only a simple majority. Among the new members are Nitish Kumar and Nitin Nabin from Bihar and Sanjay Bhatia from Haryana. For the government, an upper house that is friendlier makes it easier to pass bills and to manage the house when the Lok Sabha numbers are tight.
The argument that the opposition has held up better than the headline suggests begins with the Congress. It gained three seats, rising from 8 to 11, and sent Mallikarjun Kharge from Karnataka, Abhishek Manu Singhvi from Telangana and Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh. Sharad Pawar of the NCP (SP) and H. D. Deve Gowda of the JD(S) also won. The INDIA bloc's losses were concentrated among partners, not the Congress: the Trinamool Congress fell from seven to four seats, the DMK from four to two and the BJD from three to one. A two-thirds majority is required in each house for a constitutional amendment, and a bloc that gained 13 seats in this cycle is still well short of the numbers needed for changes such as delimitation.
The result matters for the country because the Rajya Sabha has to pass every law, and its membership changes slowly, following the results of state elections held years earlier. A stronger NDA makes ordinary legislation easier, but it does not give the government a free hand on constitutional questions, where it needs parties outside the alliance. For regional parties, the fall in seats shows how much their influence in the upper house depends on their fortunes in the states. The two-thirds rule is also why the count matters for delimitation: the April amendment fell short in the Lok Sabha by 54 votes, and the upper house would have to be won as well.
The cycle improved the NDA's position without giving it a two-thirds majority. The opposition is weaker mainly because its regional partners have lost ground while the Congress has gained.
Featured image: Sansad Bhavan, the Parliament House in New Delhi (file photo). Photo: David Castor, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.