PTI, NEW DELHI: A keen contest between the NDA and the Opposition for the post of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman appears on the cards with JD(U) MP Harivansh emerging as the candidate of the ruling alliance for the August 9 election.
The Opposition has often prevailed over the government in the numbers game in the House but the BJP is hopeful that it can get the better of its rivals with the support of regional parties such as the AIADMK, BJD, TRS and YSR Congress — all of whom have lent support to it now and then.
Leaders of opposition parties such as the Congress, TMC, SP, BSP and the Left bloc held deliberations to choose their nominee and indicated that they will force a contest for the post.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced in the House that the election will be held at 11 AM on August 9.
He also suggested that the deputy chairman should be elected by consensus. The nomination papers will have to be filed before noon on August 8.
The post of the deputy chairman has been lying vacant since June this year following the retirement of P J Kurien, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala.
While the BJP-led NDA did not make any formal announcement, sources said Harivansh, a first-time parliamentarian, is likely to be their choice for the post.
The BJP’s decision to opt for a member of its ally as its choice is driven by its desire to be more accommodative to its partners, many of whom have often expressed their reservations at the saffron party’s treatment of them since the government was formed in 2014.
