JD(U)’s Harivansh Narayan Singh elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Harivansh Narayan Singh won by 20 votes, defeating opposition candidate BK Hariprasad of the Congress.
JD(U)’s Harivansh Narayan Singh elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
JD(U)’s Harivansh Narayan Singh elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
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Harivansh Narayan Singh, a member of the Janata Dal United (JD(U)), was elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

He was fielded by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He won by 20 votes, defeating opposition candidate BK Hariprasad of the Congress. Harivansh got 125 votes while Hariprasad got 105 votes.

Following his election, he was conducted to his seat beside the Leader of Opposition. He was led by the Leader of the House Arun Jaitley, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Earlier, it was reported that Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) President Nitish Kumar requested his New Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal’s support in the election, but the latter expressed inability to do so.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh had tweeted that the party could not support JD(U) candidate Harivansh as he had the backing of the BJP.

Earlier in the week, members of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh, led by MP Vijaysai Reddy, stated that they would not vote for the NDA candidate in the Rajya Sabha election for the role of Deputy Chairman, citing that the BJP had not honoured the promises made at the time of the state’s bifurcation.

Following Harivansh’s win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him.

“I congratulate Harivanshji on being elected the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha," Modi said in the Upper House, adding that Harivansh had “served society for years.”

“I also want to congratulate B.K. Hariprasad for being a part of the election,” he added.

Journalist-turned MP, Harivansh was earlier a political adviser to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. He was formerly the editor-in-chief of Prabhat Khabar in Ranchi, quitting to become a Rajya Sabha member in 2014.

(With IANS inputs)

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