Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election likely on April 17; govt seeks support for Harivansh

The Opposition is likely to field a candidate against Harivansh, who would be the first nominated MP to be the Deputy Chairman if elected.

New Delhi: The ruling BJP has set the ball rolling for the re-election of Harivansh, who was nominated to Rajya Sabha last week, as Deputy Chairman later this week with Leader of the House JP Nadda reaching out to parties seeking their support, sources said on Monday.

The election is likely to be held on April 17, the second day after Parliament reconvenes this Thursday, even as the Opposition questioned the "haste and hurry" in this matter even as the ruling BJP has showed little concern in filling the post of Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha, which is lying vacant since 2019.

The Opposition will take a call on whether to field a candidate in the election for the post of Deputy Chairman, which fell vacant as Harivansh's previous term as a JD(U) MP ended last Thursday. Some parties are of the view that the post should not go uncontested.

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of the Opposition over the way in which presided over the passage of the contentious three Farm Bills, which were later withdrawn.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.

As Nadda reached out to parties, Congress Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said, "a government that does not appoint a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha for six years wants to bulldoze the appointment of a Deputy Chairman in the Rajya Sabha in four days."

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien said on 'X', "mocking Parliament again. Post of Deputy Speaker Lok Sabha vacant since 2019. Why is BJP in such a hurry to fill post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, vacant only for 10 days. Why does BJP want to have this election on April 17 when MPs busy with polls in their states? Shameless." 

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of the Opposition over the way in which presided over the passage of the contentious three Farm Bills, which were later withdrawn.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. 

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

He could not get re-elected as his party JD(U), which had two seats allocated in the recent allocations, chose to bring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and renominate Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur

The journalist-turned-MP was 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.

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