NEW DELHI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has increased its strength in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) by winning 12 of 26 seats across seven states for which elections were held Friday.
In the largest state of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has won as many as nine seats. The party's main winners are Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP spokesman G.V.L. Narasimha Rao.
"Congratulations to all those elected to the Rajya Sabha from various states and best wishes for their Parliamentary career. I hope they effectively voice the aspirations of the states they will represent," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted after the results were declared late Friday night.
India's Election Commission had in February declared polls to a total of 59 Rajya Sabha seats that were vacated. A month later, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed with the BJP accounting for 16 of them.