The election for the post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha has heated up particularly against the backdrop of the forthcoming Bihar Assembly polls, with partners of the ruling alliance and the Opposition in the state looking to clinch the post before the state elections.
Ending protracted discussions, the Opposition has decided to field RJD MP Manoj Jha against JD(U)’s Harivansh for the post of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Jha submitted his nomination papers on Friday.
With this in mind, Janata Dal (United) — which leads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar Member of Parliament (MP) Harivansh filed his nomination on September 9 as NDA’s candidate. Harivansh filed his nomination in the presence of Leader of Rajya Sabha Thawarchand Gehlot and BJP ally SAD leader Naresh Gujral. BJP president J P Nadda and LJP’s Ram Vilas Paswan are among his proposers.
The other reason why Jha could be fielded is because some regional parties in Bihar, unwilling to support Congress, might just end up supporting the Opposition’s candidate if he or she is from RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party. Jha, however, said that the contest should not be seen as an “RJD vs JDU” fight.
“It should not be seen as RJD vs JD-U as there are larger issues at stake relating to the health and wellbeing of the parliamentary democracy. It is not between two individuals. It is for a larger cause and it should be seen in that context,” Jha said, His name, however, was proposed by Congress because it wanted to chart a larger Opposition unity for the election.
