Harivansh Singh all set to be re-elected as RS Deputy Chairman on April 17, Oppn to boycott polls

New Delhi: Nominated MP Harivansh Narayan Singh is all set to be re-elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman on Friday, with the Opposition announcing a boycott of the polls in protest against the Modi government not electing a Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha for the past seven years.

The election is scheduled at 11 am on Friday in Rajya Sabha but Opposition did not submit any notice recommending a name from their side while five notices were submitted by the ruling NDA before the deadline for filing nominations ended at 12 noon on Thursday. This will be the first time a nominated MP will be becoming Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The NDA notices were submitted by Leader of the House J P Nadda, BJP President Nitin Nabin, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, JD(U) floor leader Sanjay Kumar Jha and RLD's Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary.

As per procedure, sources said the first notice by Nadda will be adopted by a voice vote following which Chairman CP Radhakrishnan will declare Harivansh as the winner.

The Modi government had set the ball rolling for the re-election of JD(U)'s Harivansh, who was nominated to Rajya Sabha last week, as Deputy Chairman with JP Nadda reaching out to the Opposition on April 13 seeking to build a consensus around him. Harivansh was Deputy Chairman between August 2018 and April 2026 in two terms separated by a few months.

Announcing the decision boycott the election, Congress Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said the government did not had any meaningful consultations with the opposition. He expressed hope that "Harivansh 3.0" will be more accommodative of and receptive to its requests.

During his tenure as Deputy Chairman earlier, Harivansh had 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of the Opposition over the way in which presided over the passage of the contentious three Farm Bills, which were later withdrawn.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.

"First, the Modi government has not appointed a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha for 7 years. This has never happened before. Second, the Deputy Speaker's counterpart in the Rajya Sabha is the Deputy Chairman. Harivansh's second term ended on April 9. A day later he was nominated by the President as a member of the Rajya Sabha and he is now the NDA's candidate for Deputy Chairman for a third term," Ramesh said on 'X'.

"Never before has a person nominated by the president to the Rajya Sabha been considered for the post of its deputy chairman. Third, all this is being done without any meaningful consultations with the Opposition. For these three reasons and as a mark of protest - but not with any disrespect to the very learned Harivansh - the Opposition has regretfully decided to boycott the election of the Deputy Chairman scheduled for April 17," he said.