BJP Hopeful Of Working Majority In Rajya Sabha Polls Next Month

Agencies

February 25, 2018

New Delhi, Feb 25: The BJP is hopeful of a working majority in the Rajya Sabha following the biennial polls to 58 seats from 16 states next month as the ruling NDA's numbers are expected to go up significantly at the cost of opposition parties.

The BJP will make handsome gains from Uttar Pradesh, where its massive majority in the assembly will fetch it at least eight out of 10 seats going to the polls against only one seat it has as of now.

Party leaders said it will also bag all three Rajasthan seats against the one it has and the party and its ally Shiv Sena will also bag four of the six seats in Maharasthra against the two they have.

Though NDA numbers are expected to fall from states like Bihar, where it holds all six seats going to the poll and is sure of winning only three, and Gujarat, where it is unlikely to retain more than two of the four seats; its overall gains will be significant.

BJP leaders said if the total NDA members following the polls are added to tallies of friendly parties like AIADMK, TRS, BJD and YSR, then they will have a majority in the 245-member House.

Though not part of treasury benches, these regional parties have often refrained from joining strident opposition parties like the Congress, TMC, the Left and Samajwadi Party in blocking the government's agenda, especially its bills.

We believe we will have a working majority in the Rajya Sabha following these polls, a senior BJP leader said.

Though the BJP is yet to decide on its nominees, sources said some of its national office-bearers may make their maiden entry into the House.

Among its eight general secretaries, most powerful set of office bearers, none of them, except Bhupender Yadav, is an MP.

Sources said the party may pick some of them and also consider new faces from the ranks of its spokespersons.

General secretaries like Anil Jain, Arun Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, P Muralidhar Rao and Ram Madhav are being seen among the contenders.

The BJP has already surpassed the Congress to become the largest party in the Rajya Sabha with 58 seats against the latter's 54 as the gap is set to widen further after the biennial polls.

Terms of several Union ministers, including Arun Jaitley, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan, J P Nadda, Thaawar Chand Gehlot and Ramdas Athawale are ending. The ruling alliance is expected to re-nominate them for a new term.

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It will be a black day if bjp gets majority in Lok sabha. Our constitution will face shameful day on the moment.

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‘No constitutional approval required’: RSS chief says ‘India already a Hindu nation’

News Network

December 22,2025

Kolkata: Stressing that India is a "Hindu nation," Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that no constitutional approval is needed as it is the "truth".

Addressing an event marking 100 years of the RSS, Bhagwat said that India is, and will remain, a Hindu nation until Indian culture is appreciated in the country.

"The Sun rises in the east; we don't know since when this has been happening. So, do we need constitutional approval for that, too? Hindustan is a Hindu nation. Whoever considers India their motherland appreciates Indian culture, as long as there is even one person alive on the land of Hindustan who believes in and cherishes the glory of Indian ancestors, India is a Hindu nation. This is the ideology of the Sangh," he said at the '100 Vyakhyan Mala' program of RSS in Kolkata.

"If Parliament ever decides to amend the Constitution and add that word, whether they do it or not, it's fine. We don't care about that word because we are Hindus, and our nation is a Hindu nation. That is the truth. The caste system based on birth is not the hallmark of Hindutva," he added.

RSS has always argued that India is a "Hindu Nation," given the culture and majority's affiliations to Hinduism. However, 'secular' was not originally part of the Preamble of the Constitution, but it was added along with the word 'socialist' by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, during the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Bhagwat also urged people to visit the organisation's offices and 'shakhas' to understand its work, so that what he dubbed as the “false perception” of the organisation as anti-Muslim can be dispelled!

Bhagwat said that people have understood that the organisation advocates for the protection of Hindus, and are "staunch nationalists," but not anti-muslim.

"If there is a perception that we are anti-Muslim, then, as I said, the RSS work is transparent. You can come anytime and see for yourself, and if you see anything like that happening, then you keep your views, and if you don't see it, then you change your views. There is a lot to understand (about RSS), but if you don't want to understand, then no one can change your mind," Bhagwat said.

He said, but anyone unwilling to learn cannot be helped.

"After seeing, people have said that you are staunch nationalists. You organise Hindus, and you advocate for the protection of Hindus. But you are not anti-Muslim. Many people have accepted this, and those who want to know more should come and see the RSS for themselves," he said.

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Al Hind Air, FlyExpress secure govt nod; more airlines lined up for 2026

News Network

December 24,2025

New Delhi: Two new airlines - Al Hind Air and FlyExpress - are set to take to the skies, with the carriers receiving their no objection certificates from the Civil Aviation Ministry.

In 2026, apart from these two carriers, Uttar Pradesh-based Shankh Air, which already has a No Objection Certificate (NOC), is likely to start operations.

Al Hind Air is being promoted by Kerala-based alhind Group.

The ministry is keen to have more airline operators in the country, which is one of the world's fastest growing domestic civil aviation markets.

Currently, there are nine operational scheduled domestic carriers in the country. Fly Big, a regional airline, suspended scheduled flights in October.

IndiGo and Air India Group - Air India and Air India Express - together have over 90 per cent of the domestic market share.

Concerns about apparent duopoly in the fast-growing domestic airlines' industry got amplified this month in the wake of the massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, which has a market share of more than 65 per cent.

"Over the last one week, pleased to have met teams from new airlines aspiring to take wings in Indian skies- Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress. While Shankh Air has already got the NOC from the Ministry, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress have received their NOCs this week," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said in a post on X on Tuesday.

According to him, it has been the endeavour of the ministry to encourage more airlines in Indian aviation which is amongst the fastest growing aviation markets.

Schemes like UDAN, have enabled smaller carriers Star Air, India One Air and Fly91 to play an important role in the regional connectivity within the country and there is more scope for further growth, he added.

Apart from Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and state-owned Alliance Air, other scheduled carriers are Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air, Fly91 and IndiaOne Air, as per latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In the past years, many airlines, including Go First and Jet Airways, stopped flying amid debt woes.

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