The BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha fell by four Saturday after as many nominated members – Rakesh Sinha, Ram Shakal, Sonal Mansingh, and Mahesh Jethmalani – completed their term.

All four were chosen – as non-aligned members – by President Droupadi Murmu on the advice of the ruling party, and formally allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government afterwards.

Their retirement brings the BJP’s strength down to 86 and that of the party-led National Democratic Alliance to 101, which is below the current majority mark of 113 in the 245-member House.

The current strength of the Rajya Sabha is 225.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc has 87, of which the Congress has 26, Bengal’s ruling Trinamool 13, and the Aam Aadmi Party and the DMK, in power in Delhi and Tamil Nadu, have 10 each.

Parties not aligned with either the BJP or the Congress – such as ex-Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s BRS – nominated MPs and independents hold the rest.

What Do BJP’s Reduced Numbers Mean?

It means the government is now reliant on non-NDA parties – such as ex-ally AIADMK of Tamil Nadu and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party – to pass bills in the Upper House. As of now, assuming the BJP can count on the 15 votes from NDA parties’ MPs, it will need a minimum of 13 additional ‘aye’s cast in its favour to push through bills.

The YSRCP (11) and the AIADMK (4) are the BJP’s two most obvious ‘allies’, even if its relationship with the latter has been fractious since they split in December last year, months before the election.

Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP has lent issue-based support to the BJP in the past, so at least 11 votes seem assured for Mr Modi’s party. Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD lent similar support too but, since it was beaten by the BJP in the May-June state election, has said it will not do so now.

READ | “No More Support To BJP, Only Opposition”: Naveen Patnaik

The BJD has nine Rajya Sabha MPs.

If the AIADMK is unwilling to offer support, and the BJD of Naveen Patnaik has turned away, the BJP will then turn to votes from nominated members.

There are a total of 12 nominated members in the Rajya Sabha. Although non-aligned when brought in, since they are chosen by the government, in practice they tend to support the ruling party.

Non-aligned parties like the BRS, which has four MPs, and independents may also come into play.

How Many Vacant Seats In Rajya Sabha

There are a total of 20 seats vacant at this time, including 11 held by elected members for which polls are expected this year. Of these, there are two seats each in Maharashtra, Assam, and Bihar, and one each in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Tripura.

READ | 10 Vacancies In Rajya Sabha After Members Go To Lok Sabha

The BJP-led alliance has the numbers to win seven – from Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Tripura. And if it can keep its flock together in Maharashtra, it will win two more from there.

This could give the BJP as many as nine extra seats. If it wins those, and with the nominated members’ votes, as well as the YSRCP’s, it will have more than enough to cross the majority mark.

READ | In Historic J&K Ruling, Supreme Court Sets Election Deadline

There are also four seats vacant from Jammu and Kashmir, which is expected to hold an Assembly election by September 30, in line with a Supreme Court order.

The Telangana seat is likely to be won by the Congress, which swept to power last year.

This is crucial because it will give the party enough votes to claim the Leader of the Opposition post in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress will then hold the LoP seat in both Houses.

The 20-year-old man who allegedly tried to assassinate former US President Donald Trump had tried to join his high school’s rifle team but was rejected for being a “terrible” shot.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement when he allegedly attacked the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. 

He slipped onto a rooftop location 140 meters from the stage where Trump was speaking and began firing an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, purchased by his father, officials said. The gunfire struck Trump’s right ear, killed a 50-year-old man, and critically injured two other spectators.  

Thomas Matthew Crooks Was Member Of Shooting Club

Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, about an hour away from where the shocking shooting occurred, was a member of a local shooting club named Clairton Sportsmen’s Club.

He had also tried out for the rifle team at high school but was rejected, The Post reported. 

He once missed his target by close to 20 feet, former student Jameson Murphy told The Post.

“He tried out…and was such a comically bad shot he was unable to make the team and left after the first day,” he said.

“Crooks couldn’t shoot at all. He was a terrible shot,” another classmate told The Post.

Even the coach had concerns about Crooks, the former students said.

“He made some crass jokes that weren’t appropriate when there are firearms in the school setting,” they said, without elaborating on what Crooks said.

Thomas Matthew Crooks Was “Quiet”

The early details that have emerged about Thomas Matthew Crooks show that he was working an entry-level job near his hometown in Pennsylvania.

He graduated from high school in 2022 with a reputation as a bright but “quiet” classmate. 

His counselor at Bethel Park High School described him as “respectful” and said he never knew him to be political.

Jim Knapp, who retired from his job as the school counselor at Bethel Park High School in 2022, said Crooks had always been “quiet as a churchmouse,” “respectful” and kept to himself, although he did have a few friends.

Knapp said he rarely came across Crooks because “he wasn’t a needy type of kid”. 

He was employed as a dietary aide at a nursing home at the time of the shooting, which has now forced Trump’s rival and US President Joe Biden to change his plan to revive his presidential campaign.

(With agency inputs)

The Tihar jail administration and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are locked in a heated exchange over the health condition of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. While AAP leaders have claimed that Mr Kejriwal is rapidly losing weight and his health is declining in prison, jail authorities have alleged such a narrative aims to browbeat the prison administration.

Responding to AAP leaders’ charge that Mr Kejriwal has lost 8.5 kg since he went to prison and that there is a conspiracy to kill him behind bars, the Tihar jail administration has put out a detailed update on the Chief Minister’s health status.

Mr Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case linked to Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy. He was out on bail briefly to campaign for the Lok Sabha election and then returned to Tihar jail.

The jail authorities have said Mr Kejriwal’s weight was 65 kg on April 1, the day he entered Tihar’s Central Jail No. 2. When he was granted bail on May 10 after a Supreme Court relief, he weighed 64 kg. When he surrendered again – June 2 – the weight was recorded as 63.5. Currently, Mr Kejriwal weighs 61.5.

Earlier, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had said Mr Kejriwal weighed 70 kg when he was arrested and this has reduced to 61.5 kg. This rapid weight loss is a sign of a serious ailment, Mr Singh claimed.

The jail authorities have said that the prison’s medical officer has said that the loss of weight “may be due to consumption of less quantity of food or low calorie intake”.

“Further, the accused is under supervision of the Senior Medical Officer, CJ-02 round the clock. The health of the UTP (undertrial prisoner) is under continuous monitoring and his vitals are being checked daily. The UTP is being reviewed by Jail visiting Medical Specialist Doctor of Tihar jail for complaints posed by him and is administered medicines, if required,” the jail report states.

Countering AAP leaders’ contention that Mr Kejriwal’s blood sugar had dropped multiple times in jail, the jail report said, “At present, the inmate Blood Sugar is being monitored as advised from the medical board and he is being provided treatment and diet as advised from the medical board, his vitals are within normal limits at present.”

The jail authorities have said the AAP ministers and lawmakers were levelling “baseless allegations”. “Such a narrative, confuses and misleads the public with false information and ulterior motives with intent to brow-beat the Prison administration,” they said.

Mr Kejriwal’s blood pressure, blood sugar and weight are being regularly monitored, he is being provided adequate treatment for all his ailments and is eating home-cooked food thrice a day, the jail authorities said.

In response, AAP’s Sanjay Singh said the jail report confirms that Mr Kejriwal has lost weight and that his blood sugar level has dropped multiple times. “If sugar levels are low, one may slip into coma in sleep. There is also the risk of a brain stroke,” he said. 

The AAP has said Mr Kejriwal’s family, the party and his well-wishers are concerned about his health. “The aim of BJP and its government at the Centre is to keep him in jail and play with his life. They are hatching a conspiracy so that he faces some serious health issues,” he has alleged.

The BJP’s Delhi unit has hit back. Virendra Sachdeva, who leads the party in Delhi, has said AAP leaders are enacting a “drama” to “mislead” the court and ensure that Mr Kejriwal gets bail.