It has been decided that Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar will go to Rajya Sabha. Actually, Sunetra Pawar had resigned from the post of Rajya Sabha member before taking oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Since then, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seat had become vacant, on which his son Parth Pawar will now be nominated. Praful Patel announced this in the National Executive.

A few days before this, Parth Pawar’s name was unanimously finalized for Rajya Sabha in the NCP Core Committee meeting. Major changes also took place in the organization of NCP on Thursday, 26 February. After the death of Ajit Pawar, he was appointed the president of the party today. Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Ajit Pawar and Deputy CM of Maharashtra, was elected party president unopposed.

Parth Pawar has contested Lok Sabha elections

Parth Pawar is the elder son of late senior leader Ajit Pawar. He entered politics through the Lok Sabha elections in the year 2019. Parth contested the elections from Maval Lok Sabha seat, which was considered an important decision related to the political legacy of the Pawar family. However, Parth Pawar had to face defeat. After losing the Lok Sabha elections, Parth Pawar stayed away from politics. He neither took any position in the party nor in the organization.

Parth Pawar’s degree and property details

35-year-old Parth Pawar had declared his assets as Rs 20 crore in the form during the Lok Sabha elections. Parth Pawar has a B.Com degree. After this he did further studies in London.

7 Rajya Sabha seats vacant in Maharashtra

For information, let us tell you that on March 16, voting will be held for seven vacant seats of Rajya Sabha in Maharashtra. Prafulla Patel has clearly announced that only Parth Pawar will file the nomination on behalf of NCP. From this it has become clear that Parth Pawar will not enter Maharashtra politics but will directly enter central politics.

Five seats are falling vacant in Rajya Sabha from Bihar. The seat of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) National President Upendra Kushwaha will also be vacant on April 9. BJP had sent him to Rajya Sabha from its quota. Now it remains to be seen whether BJP again sends Upendra Kushwaha to Rajya Sabha from its quota or not, but a big claim has been made by the party. On Saturday (February 21, 2026), a party leader told about the deal with BJP.

Party spokesperson Ram Pukar Singh told ABP News that it is our right and we are saying with this right that Upendra Kushwaha should go to Rajya Sabha again. Ram Pukar Singh said that we are part of NDA. There are five parties in NDA, JDU, BJP, HAM, RLM and LJP Ram Vilas. When the seats were being distributed in the Assembly elections (2025), it was decided with the BJP that one Rajya Sabha and one Legislative Council member would be made from our party.

‘It was decided before BJP’

The RLM leader said that this matter was decided before BJP. On the basis of this condition, it is our right that our leader Upendra Kushwaha should be sent to Rajya Sabha this time also. RLM workers worked hard on all 243 seats of Bihar. The result is that we (NDA) won 202 seats. Our party and our leader Upendra Kushwaha are considered to have made a big contribution in this.

‘Everyone makes their own demands’

When asked whether Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party and Chirag Paswan’s party will also ask for one seat each? On this, Ram Pukar Singh said that everyone makes demands on their own, but we are firm on what we had decided with the Bharatiya Janata Party. BJP had promised to repeat our leader Upendra Kushwaha. What if it is not sent? On this he said that this is a matter of top leadership. Leaders of all the constituent parties of NDA will sit and further decisions will be taken.

Also read- Bihar: Will Pawan Singh go to Rajya Sabha? 5th seat will become the biggest political battlefield, what is the mood of BJP?

BJP is likely to get a big lead in the Rajya Sabha elections 2026, which can further strengthen its majority in the Upper House. On the basis of numbers, the party can win 15 to 18 seats, while the tenure of 9 of its MPs is ending next month. In states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Assam, the BJP is expected to benefit from its strong hold in the government or ruling coalition. The strength of the assembly in these states is in favor of BJP, which plays a decisive role in the election of Rajya Sabha seats.

BJP is certain to win all three seats in Assam

For example, in Maharashtra, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is likely to win 6 out of 7 seats. If the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) fights unitedly here, it can get a seat. But Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) are likely to lose one seat each here. Due to BJP being in power in Assam too, its victory on all three seats is considered certain, especially when assembly elections are going to be held there next month.

Assembly strength ensures majority in upper house

BJP alliance may get one extra seat in Bihar, which will increase its existing 3 seats to 4. BJP may gain 2 seats in Odisha also. There will be benefit of being in power in Chhattisgarh and Haryana also, where one seat each can increase. Overall, BJP’s assembly strength in these states will further strengthen its majority in the Upper House.

Opposition will suffer loss, it will be difficult to get majority

At the same time, opposition parties may have to suffer losses. Congress is likely to win one seat each in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, but the tenure of 4 of its MPs is ending, making it difficult for it to gain majority in the Upper House.

In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) may get 4 seats, while BJP may get one. But in Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK is likely to win 4 out of 6 seats and AIADMK is likely to win one. There will be tough competition on the remaining one. Due to opposition parties being in power in states like Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal, BJP will face challenge here, but in overall figures BJP will have the upper hand.

Some parties like Congress and its allies may lose seats in Maharashtra, while Trinamool and DMK may gain. But BJP’s lead will increase NDA’s dominance in the Upper House, which will make it easier to pass bills. Will this election bring more problems for the opposition?

Rajya Sabha Election 2026: The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule of elections for Rajya Sabha. This election is being conducted to fill the places of those members whose tenure is ending in April 2026. Elections will be held on 37 seats in a total of 10 states. According to the schedule released by the Election Commission, notification will be issued on 26 February 2026. The process of filing nomination, scrutiny and withdrawal of nomination will be completed as per the stipulated time limit. Voting for all these seats will be held on 16 March 2026. Voting will take place on the same day and counting of votes will also be done on March 16 only.

This election will be conducted for the seats of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. Political parties have started the process of selecting their candidates and election activity has intensified in the states.

election program

• Notification will be released on 26 February 2026.
• The last date for nomination has been fixed as March 5, 2026.
• Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on 6 March 2026.
• The last date for withdrawal of names is 9 March 2026.
• Voting will take place on March 16, 2026, from 9 am to 4 pm.
• Counting of votes will start at 5 pm on March 16, 2026.
• The election process will be completed by 20 March 2026.

Retiring members from Maharashtra

• Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
• Dr. Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan
• Priyanka Vikram Chaturvedi
• Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar
• Patience Mohan Patil
• Rajni Ashokrao Patil
• Ramdas Bandu Athawale

Retired member from Odisha

• mamta mohanta
• Mujibullah Khan
• Sujit Kumar
• Niranjan Bishi

Retired member from Tamil Nadu

• nr elango
• P Selvarasu
• M Thambidurai
• tiruchi siva
• Dr Kanimozhi N V N Somu
• G K Vasan

Retired member from West Bengal

• Saket Gokhale
• Ritabrata Banerjee
• Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya
• Weather Noor
• Subrata Bakshi

Retired member from Assam

• Rameshwar Teli
• Bhuvaneshwar Kalita
• Ajit Kumar Bhuiyan

Retired member from Bihar

• Amarendra Dhari Singh
• Prem Chand Gupta
• Ramnath Thakur
• Upendra Kushwaha
• Harivansh Narayan Singh

Retired member from Chhattisgarh

• Poet Tejpal Singh Tulsi
• Phulo Devi Netam

Retired member from Haryana

• Kiran Chaudhary
• Ram Chander Jangra

Retired member from Himachal Pradesh

• Indu Bala Goswami
• Retired member from Telangana
• Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi
• K R Suresh Reddy

Voting for all these seats will be held on 16 March 2026. Political parties have accelerated the process of deciding their candidates.

2026 is going to be a year of big change in Rajya Sabha. Around 72 to 75 seats are getting vacant throughout the year, which will happen due to retirement in April, June, July and November. Currently in February 2026, out of total 245 seats in Rajya Sabha, BJP has 103, Congress has 27, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has 12, AAP has 10, DMK has 10, BJD has 7, YSRCP has 5 and AIADMK has 7 seats. Nominees are 7 and total NDA strength is around 121, while INDIA block has 80 seats. But this figure is going to change significantly due to the coming elections.

NDA is expected to gain 7 to 9 seats, due to which their strength can reach 145. At the same time, INDIA block may lose 5 seats, which will bring their number to around 75.

On which 37 seats of Rajya Sabha will elections be held?

First of all, on March 16, 2026, elections are being held for 37 seats, which are from 10 states. 7 from Maharashtra, 4 from Odisha, 6 from Tamil Nadu, 5 from West Bengal, 3 from Assam, 5 from Bihar, 2 from Chhattisgarh, 2 from Haryana, 1 from Himachal Pradesh and 2 from Telangana. These seats are becoming vacant in April. Another 35-38 seats will be included in the remaining elections of the year, which are from a total of 22 states, such as 10 from Uttar Pradesh, 4 from Karnataka, 4 from Gujarat, 4 from Andhra Pradesh.

Where will BJP benefit?

The recent assembly elections have strengthened the position of NDA. For example, NDA has 228 MLAs in Maharashtra (BJP 131, Shiv Sena-Shinde 57, NCP-Ajit 40), which can win 4-5 out of 7 seats, i.e. more than before. NDA may get one extra seat in Bihar, where earlier there were 3, now 4. 3 gains in Andhra Pradesh, 1 in Gujarat, 2 in Odisha, 1 in Rajasthan. These gains come from assembly strength, like NDA won 2025 elections in Maharashtra, NDA is strong in Bihar, BJP in Haryana, BJP in Jharkhand. However, there may be loss of 1 seat each in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

What is the complete mathematics of the strength of the Assembly in Rajya Sabha seats?

Members (MPs) of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the voting of the elected MLAs of the state assembly. That is, which party will be stronger at the center depends on how many MLAs that party has in the assembly of each state. If your party’s strength increases in the Assembly, your seats in the Rajya Sabha also increase.

Rajya Sabha seats are decided in every state. Like 19 seats from Maharashtra, but elections are held on some seats every year, when the old members retire. To win an election, every candidate needs a certain number of votes, which is called ‘quota’.

How to calculate this quota?

The formula is very simple: Quota = (Total MLAs) / (Seats +1) +1.

The members of Rajya Sabha choose the elected members of the Legislative Assembly, hence the quota is decided by the number of MLAs in each state. This is so that votes for each seat are distributed equally and a party can win more seats with more votes. If a candidate gets even one vote less than the quota, he loses.

Understand from the example of Bihar: There are a total of 243 MLAs in Bihar and elections are to be held on 5 seats. Quota: 243 ÷ (5 + 1 = 6) = 40.5, then +1 = 41.5, but rounding to 42 votes per seat. NDA has 202 MLAs, so 202 ÷ 42 ≈ 4.81 i.e. 4 seats. Earlier the strength of NDA was less, so 120 ÷ 42 ≈ 2.85 i.e. only 2-3 seats. But NDA made a strong hold in Bihar in the recent elections, hence there will be a gain in Rajya Sabha. If any MLA cross-votes or supports independent, then NDA can also get the 5th seat.

Which parties will be at loss or gain?

Congress and INDIA block will suffer the most as 5 to 6 seats may be reduced. Like Congress may lose 1 seat in Gujarat, Trinamool may lose in West Bengal, Congress may lose 1 seat in Karnataka. BJD 1-2 less in Odisha, YSRCP 3 less in Andhra, CPI(M) 1 less than West Bengal. Wherever these parties become weak in the assembly, they will lose seats.

At the same time, the parties that benefit can be from the NDA party. In these, BJP can gain 7-9 seats i.e. total NDA can reach 145. Congress may gain 1-2 extra seats in DMK Tamil Nadu, but overall INDIA alliance will remain down.

Which big leaders are difficult to return to Rajya Sabha?

The return of big leaders seems difficult. Efforts are being made for re-election for Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (Karnataka), but there is speculation that he will not return. Digvijay Singh (Madhya Pradesh) will not get a third term in place of Kamal Nath. HD Deve Gowda (Karnataka) JDS does not have the numbers so retirement is possible. Sharad Pawar (Maharashtra) term ends, NCP(SP) weak, Ranjan Gogoi (nominated) retire in March, Parimal Nathwani (Andhra) BJP will not give second term, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya CPI(M). These are all speculations, but the comeback from party strength seems tough.

Overall, NDA will become stronger in Rajya Sabha in 2026, which will make it easier to pass bills. The opposition will have to change its strategy.