No Contest: Jaishankar, Derek O' Brien, and 9 Others To Become Rajya Sabha MPs

New Parliament Building. 

(Photo: PTI)

Eleven political leaders, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O' Brien, are set to be elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.

Details: There will be no voting for six West Bengal seats, three Gujarat seats, and one Goa seat as there are no opposing candidates in those seats, according to a report by NDTV.

Yes, but: The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on 24 July, as per ANI.

• The incumbent Rajya Sabha members in these seats are set to retire in the months of July and August, the ECI said.

Why it matters: While the BJP is currently the single-largest party in the Rajya Sabha with 93 members, it is still reportedly short of the majority mark.

From the BJP: Besides Jaishankar, the following BJP leaders are set to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament:

• Babubhai Desai and Kesaridev Singh Jhala from Gujarat

• Anant Maharaj from West Bengal

• Sadanand Shet Tanavade from Goa

The two Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat had fallen vacant after Union Ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2019 general elections, Outlook said in its report.

From the TMC: Besides Derek O'Brien, the other Trinamool Congress leaders set to become Rajya Sabha members from West Bengal are:

• Sukhendu Sekhar Roy

• Dola Sen

• Saket Gokhale

• Samirul Islam

• Prakash Barik

By the numbers: As seven seats in the 245-member Rajya Sabha will fall vacant after 24 July, the total seats will come down to 238 and 120 will be the majority mark, the NDTV report stated.

• Congress' strength in the Upper House is 30

• The ruling BJP and its allies have 105 Rajya Sabha members

• Over 12 Rajya Sabha MPs belong to TMC.