Waqf Amendment Bill 2024: Who All Support, How Numbers Stack Up in Lok Sabha And Rajya Sabha?

New Delhi: The Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, one of the most awaited, is set to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. The bill will be first tabled in Lok Sabha on April 1 and if passed then in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, April 2. The Waqf Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, to redress the issues and challenges in regulating and managing the Waqf properties.

The Amendment Bill objective is to improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India and also protect the properties that have been illegally claimed by the Waqf Board, as there have been several instances related to this in the past. The Amendment Bill further aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards by introducing changes such as renaming the Act, updating the definitions of Waqf, improving the registration process, and increasing the role of technology in managing Waqf records.

The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 was referred to the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) after it was introduced during the Monsoon session in 2024 for detailed discussions and address the concerns of all the stakeholders. After various sitting by the JDP and widespread discussion, the amendment bill was approved by 15-11 vote. The JPC incorporated 14 amendments suggested by the NDA while it rejected 44 sought by the opposition.

Who are in support and opposition on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024? 

Parties who are in support of Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024  

• BJP
• Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP)
• Nitish Kumar 's Janata Dal (United) 
• Eknath Shinde 's Shiv Sena 
• Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)
• Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal 
• HD Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal-Secular 
• Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party 
• Apna Dal (Soneylal)
• Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)
• All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU)
• Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM)
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
• Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) 
• United People's Party Liberal (UPPL)

Parties who are opposing Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024

• Congress 
• Samajwadi Party (SP)
• Trinamool Congress ( TMC ) 
• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) 
• Shiv Sena (UBT) 
• Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar
• Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM)
• Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
• Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)
• Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) 
• Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC)
• Communist Party of India (CPI) 
• Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation 

How numbers stack up in Lok Sabha?

The Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 needs a simple majority in both the Houses of the Parliament, so it's much easier for the government to pass the Waqf Bill than the ‘One nation One Poll’ or the ‘Uniform Civil Code’. The NDA has a total of 294 seats in Lok Sabha out of which:

• BJP: 240
• TDP: 16
• JDU: 12
• Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde: 7
• LJP-RV: 5
• Others: 14

The bill requires a simple majority of 272 to pass the bill. Since the total strength of NDA in Lower House is 294, it's going to be easy for the government to get through the bill.

What if JDU and TDP abstain?

The BJP needs a total of 272 votes to pass the bill in Lok Sabha. The NDA has a total of 294 seats and even without the JDU, which has 12 seats, the ruling alliance would still be able to pass the bill with a strength of 282.

Similarly, if the TDP backs out but JDU remains, then also the NDA will be able to get through the bill. TDP has 16 seats, so after removing their share, the NDA's strength in the lower house still remain at 278, above the majority mark.

If both TDP and JDU abstain, then also the NDA will be able to pass the bill because without these two parties, the majority mark will be reduced to 257. So without TDP and JDU, the NDA will stand at 266, 9 seats more than required numbers to pass the bill.

What happens in Rajya Sabha?

In Rajya Sabha also, the NDA stands at a comfortable majority as well. In the Upper House, the majority mark is 122. The BJP has 98 MPs and its allies have 26.

The bill will be easily passed in the Rajya Sabha if Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP and Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) stage a walkout.

It is to be noted that the BJP in the past has managed to pass the bills in Rajya Sabha without having a majority including the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Amendment Bill of 2021.