BJP now has wafer-thin majority in House

New Delhi: With steady losses in several by-elections over the past few months, the BJP, which on Thursday managed to retain just one seat out of three in the Lok Sabha bypolls, now has a wafer thin majority with its effective strength standing at 272 in the 539-member House.

In 2014, the BJP had won 282 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections riding on the Narendra Modi wave, 10 more than the halfway mark of 272. Fast forward to 2018, the BJP’s individual tally in the lower house as of May 31, stands at 272, excluding the Speaker.

The Lok Sabha has 543 elected members but its four seats are unrepresented.

While three MPs from Karnataka resigned, the Anantnag seat in Kashmir is lying vacant after the bypoll was deferred indefinitely in May last year. It brings the majority mark down to 270.

However, for all practical purposes, the BJP’s strength is 274 as two nominated members also belong to it.

Counting them, the BJP has three members more than the 271 it needs to have a majority in 541-member House.

Due to losses in a number of by-polls, including in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BJP’s strength has come down in the Lok Sabha after it won 282 seats in the 2014 general elections.

However, it makes little difference to the government as the BJP-led NDA has around 315 seats.

By-polls to four Lok Sabha seats were held on May 28. The BJP had won three of them in the general elections but could manage to retain only one.