With the resignation of BS Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu as Lok Sabha MPs on Saturday, 19 May, the BJP’s tally in the Lower House now stands exactly at the majority mark of 272 (not including the Speaker).
This represents a decrease of as many as 10 seats in the last four years, as the BJP had secured 282 seats when the Lok Sabha elections were held in 2014. The saffron’s party sweeping win in 2014 was the first time a single political party secured an absolute majority in 30 years.
To make matters worse, two of the MPs currently have a strained relationship with the party, with one – Kirti Azad – being suspended, and the other – Shatrughan Sinha – repeatedly rebelling against the party, as pointed out by The Economic Times.
However, the Modi government is not in any danger of collapsing as the NDA, which includes the BJP plus several of its allies, still sits comfortably above the majority mark.
In March, after the BJP’s loss in the prestigious Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls, the BJP’s tally in the Lok Sabha had come down to 274. As pointed out by IANS at that time, the party had lost seven seats in the bypolls held since 2014.
The party now faces another test with bypolls to four Lok Sabha seats scheduled for 28 May, including two in Maharashtra (Bhandara-Gondia and Palghar), one in UP (Kairana) and one in Nagaland.
Among the other notable losses for the BJP in the bypolls held till now include those in Alwar and Ajmer (Rajasthan) earlier this year, as well as in Punjab’s Gurdaspur in 2017.
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