GST bill may be enacted even as majority eludes BJP in Upper House

Even as media reports are abuzz with India getting Saffronised and how Congress got washed out in recently held assembly elections in 5 states, BJP will still not be able to add to its tally in the Rajya Sabha, from the state of Assam. There will be no vacancy in the Upper House from Assam until June 2019. 

In coming two months i.e in June & July of this year as many as 53 Rajya Sabha MPs are set to retire or go for fresh nominations. 

53 MPs to retire in two months:-

BJP has struggled to pass important legislative bills in the Upper House owing to its lack of majority. NDA government currently has support of 72 MPs. The strength of Upper House is 245 members. To pass any bills comfortably centre needs support of atleast 123 members. 

Current election results do make BJP's presence in Upper House stronger, but are still falling way short of a majority, at least for the time being.  West Bengal will have six vacancies in the month of August next year; while Kerala will have three vacancies only in July 2018. This leaves us with Tamil Nadu as the only state amongst the five states where the assembly elections were held, with six MPs retiring in June this year. In Puducherry the seat will be vacant in October,2021. 

Jayalalitha had previously raised concerns on the GST bill by speaking about her fear that the bill once passed will reduce fiscal autonomy of the state and the revenue losses for the state will be considerable. Mamata Banerjee on the other hand has stated her willingness to support the GST bill. Uttar Pradesh has already expressed their support for the GST bill. 

With the NDA ruled state aided by TMC and SP, support for the GST bill gets stronger, and the bill may well be a reality in coming few months.