BSP Supremo Ms Mayawati and Telugu Mega Star Chiranjeevi of Congress are among the 50 members who took oath in the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the second part of the Budget Session beginning today. Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition, Arun Jaitley, Vilasrao Desmukh and Rajiv Shukla, both Ministers and the former Deputy Chairman, K Rehman Khan are among the ten members who were re-elected to the Upper House. The new members include former Indian Hockey Captain, Dilip Tirkey from Biju Janata Dal and noted actress and Samajwadi Party leader, Jaya Bachan. The Chairman Mohammed Hamid Ansari, who administered the oath to the new and re-elected members, said the House looked forward to their valuable contributions in making the functioning of Parliamentary democracy more effective, people-oriented and purposive.
AIR Correspondent reports that a total of 56 members belonging to various parties from 14 states, were elected to the Upper House. The BJP bagged 15 seats followed by Congress, 13 and Samajwadi Party, 7.