Rajya Sabha deputy chairman poll: First-time Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha is the joint opposition’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha’s deputy chairman elections scheduled next week, setting up a face-off between the RJD and its prime rival in Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), or JD-U, people familiar with the matter said.
JD-U MP Harivansh, 64, has already been named by the National Democratic Alliance as its candidate for a second term as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin from September 14 and election for the post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha is slated to take place.
Earlier, the Congress decided at a meeting of its parliamentary leadership to not let the election to the Deputy Chairman’s post go uncontested. Senior party leaders then reached out to other opposition parties to build consensus on the matter.
According to reports, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva’s name was also discussed. But some opposition members including the Samajwadi Party suggested fielding a candidate from Bihar since Assembly elections in the state are due to be held in October-November.
Manoj Jha’s name was then mooted. The Congress approached the RJD and it was given a go ahead signal.
Manoj Jha was nominated to Rajya Sabha in April 2018. Earlier, he has been a professor in social work at Delhi University and has also headed the department.
Senior opposition members, however, feel that the numbers do not seem to be in their favour. The Congress and others are now making an effort to convince ‘neutral parties’ like the BJD, YSR Congress and TRS.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, has issued a three-line whip to all its Rajya Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House on September 14.
The party has 87 MPs in the Upper House while the NDA has more than a hundred members. The government is confident that it will sail through in the 245-member House.
