Harivansh returns to Rajya Sabha as nominated member a day after retirement

A two-term lawmaker, Harivansh has been a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar since April 10, 2014.

New Delhi: JD(U)'s Harivansh, the outgoing Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, was on Friday appointed as a nominated member in the Upper House, a day after his retirement as an MP.

His appointment also came on a day his party supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. With this, all 12 posts of nominated members have been filled in Rajya Sabha.

Harivansh, who is named a nominated MP by President Droupadi Murmu in the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Ranjan Gogoi in March, could not get a renomination as there were only two slots available for JD(U) from Bihar and the party chose to retain Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur and send Nitish to the Upper House.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to nominate Shri Harivansh to the Council of States to fill the vacancy caused due to retirement of one of the nominated member," an official notification said.

Hours after his appointment was notified, Harivansh took oath in Hindi. Chairman CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath.

A two-term lawmaker, Harivansh (69), a resident of Jharkhand's Ranchi, has been a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar since 10 April, 2014. He was reelected in 10 April, 2020 and his second term ended on Thursday.

The 69-year-old journalist-turned-MP was first elected first elected to the post of Deputy Chairman on 9 August, 2018 in an election that saw him winning 125-105 against Congress' BK Hariprasad. After his term ended in April 2020, he was fielded once again when he returned to the House in an election on 14 September, 2020 in which he defeated RJD's Manoj K Jha in a voice vote. 

Harivansh, who succeeded Congress' PJ Kurien after his retirement in July 2018, is the only third non-Congress Deputy Speaker with Republican Party of India's BD Khobragade (December 1969 to April 1972) and Samyukta Socialist Party's Godey Murahari (April 1972 to March 1977 in two terms). He had succeeded PJ Kurien of Congress after he retired in July 2018.

His retirement has raised speculation about the next Deputy Chairman in the House with questions being raised whether JD(U) or any other NDA ally will get the post or the BJP will take it. Harivansh could return as Deputy Chairman if the government wishes when an election to the post is likely to be held during Monsoon Session that usually is convened in third week of July.

During his tenure, Harivansh had also earned the wrath of the Opposition over the way in which presided over the passage of the contentious three Farm Bills, which were later withdrawn. The Opposition submitted a notice to remove him from the post of Deputy Chairman but was rejected by the then Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. 

A post graduate in economics from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), he has also been media adviser to then Prime Minister Chandra Sekhar.

The other nominated members are D Veerendra Heggade, Ilayairaaja, V Vijayendra Prasad, PT Usha and Ghulam Ali (retiring in 2028), Sudha Murthy and Satnam Singh Sandhu (retiring in 2030) and Dr Meenakshi Jain, C Sadanandan Master, Ujjwal Nikam and Harsh Vardhan Shringla (retiring in 2031). Harivansh's term also ends in 2031.

As the Constitution allows an MP to join a party within six months of their nomination, five of them -- Ali, Sadandan Master, Nikam, Sandhu and Shringla -- have enrolled as a BJP member.