Election 2014: Wins in Maharashtra, Haryana will help BJP raise numbers in Rajya Sabha, Maharashtra assembly elections 2014, Maharashtra election news updates, Maharashtra political news, latest and political news 2014

Election 2014: Wins in Maharashtra, Haryana will help BJP raise numbers in Rajya Sabha

 For the BJP, capturing Maharashtra and Haryana would also bring hope of enhancing its numerical strength in Rajya Sabha, where the ruling NDA is in a minority.

Despite getting a majority in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has been finding it difficult to push reforms in Rajya Sabha, where the ruling party has just 43 against the Congress's 68 in the 250-member House. In the monsoon session, relenting to Opposition pressure, the government was forced to refer the bill to raise the FDI cap in the insurance sector to a select committee.

The BJP is hoping that the results of Maharashtra, which sends 19 to the Upper House, and Haryana, with a quota of five members, would make a beginning in bridging the numerical gap between the NDA and the Opposition, giving the government more muscle to pursue its legislative agenda. A BJP leader said sweeping Maharashtra and Haryana would help the party in overcoming its deficiency in Rajya Sabha.

The BJP had given one seat from its lone Maharashtra seat to its Mahayuti ally, RPI's Ramdas Athawle, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Shiv Sena, which has so far remained in the NDA at the Centre, has three seats. The Congress and NCP have 12 seats. Barring the nominated ones, the MLAs have a say in election of Rajya Sahba members.

However, the government would have to wait for its fortunes in Rajya Sabha to change till at least 2016, when terms of nearly a third of the Rajya Sabha members ends. The next round of elections would be in 2018.

If the BJP continues with its spate of capturing states, that too on its own, it could turn around the number game in Rajya Sabha before prime minister Narendra Modicompletes his first tenure in 2019.

The terms of four members -- two Congress and two National Conference -- from Jammu and Kashmir is due to end in February next year. In case the state elections are held prior to that, it could reflect in the Rajya Sabha.

Maharashtra and Haryana -- two states where the BJP has snapped its ties with allies -- would also be a litmus test for the BJP's strategy to go it alone. If the BJP follows a similar pattern in other states like Odisha and Punjab, hoping to ride on the Modi wave, and triumphs it would add to its tally in state legislatures.