Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election: All you need to know about the NDA's pick, Opposition front-runners

Hyderabad: The contest for the post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha between the National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition appeared to be heading for a showdown in the 9 August election with the BJP-led ruling lacking a majority in the Upper House and the Opposition appearing keen to put up a fight. On Monday, JD(U) president Nitish Kumar reached out to Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao to request support for his party lawmaker and National Democratic Alliance candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh. The Bihar chief minister rang up the Telangana Rashtra Samithi president this morning and made the request, according to Rao’s office. Rao told him he would discuss the issue with his party colleagues and take a final decision, it said. According to various reports citing Opposition sources, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and NCP’s Vandana Chavan are front-runners for the post. [caption id=“attachment_4912111” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Parliament. PTI[/caption] The NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh According to a report in NDTV, Harivansh Narayan Singh has been a Rajya Sabha member of the Janata Dal(United) since 2014. Singh, 62, is the former editor-in-chief of Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar, which for years championed the cause of special category status for Bihar, a key demand of Nitish Kumar. A first-time parliamentarian, Harivansh Singh was given a seat in the Rajya Sabha by Nitish Kumar’s party in 2014 and has a tenure till 2020. He is described as a candidate who has friends across the political spectrum - an important qualification to manage the House, according to the report. Singh was earlier PRO for former prime minister Chandrashekhar. Opposition front-runners Vandana Chavan Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Vandana Chavan is the likely Opposition favourite for the number two post in the Rajya Sabha. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the 57-year-old Chavan was recently re-elected to the Upper House from Maharashtra. She has been a member of Rajya Sabha since 2012. Chavan’s sister Vinita was married to Ashok Kamte, one of the officers who died fighting 26/11 terrorists, according to the report. KTS Tulsi According to a report in The Indian Express, KTS Tulsi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2014. Tulsi has several high-profile clients, including former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, and is known for successfully taking on the Ansals on behalf of the victims of the Uphaar Cinema tragedy in Delhi. Tulsi was born in 1947 in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur. He graduated in Political Science from Panjab University and completed his Bachelors in Law in 1971. In the 1980s, he took to criminal law, according to the report. Tulsi is the former solicitor-general of India. Tiruchi Siva DMK’s Tiruchi Siva has had a controversial past. According to a report in The Times of India, in April 2017, Siva’s son accused him of trying to separate him from his Christian wife by indirectly intimidating her and threatening her mother with dire consequences. Siva’s son Surya Manivannan, 27, alleged that unknown persons threatened his wife and her mother over the phone to leave Surya. He alleged that the calls were made at Siva’s behest, who allegedly opposed the inter-religious marriage. According to this _Firstpost_ piece,  Siva was also in the news in August 2016 after Sasikala thrashed him at the security check at IGI airport in New Delhi. Sasikala claimed that Siva had exceeded all limits in criticising Amma and her government. Interestingly, while this incident took place in full public view, neither of them complained to the police. Siva missed that flight, which he was supposed to take with Sasikala for Chennai and took another flight, according to the report. Support of regional parties to prove crucial The support of regional parties such as the AIADMK, BJD, TRS and YSR Congress is crucial. The post of the deputy chairman has been lying vacant since June following the retirement of PJ Kurien, who had been elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala. The strength of Rajya Sabha is 244 and support of 123 members would be needed for a win in the full House. The BJP is the largest party in the house with 73 members. Its allies JD(U), Shiv Sena, Akali Dal have six, three and three members, respectively. Besides the nominated and independent members affiliated to it, the BJP is banking on the support of 13, nine, six and two members of the AIADMK, BJD, TRS, YSR Congress respectively, its floor managers said. If all four parties support the NDA candidate, then the numbers add up to 126. However, if parties like BJD or TRS abstain from voting, then things will become more precarious for the ruling alliance. Both these parties had abstained during a vote on the recent motion of no-confidence against the government in the Lok Sabha while the AIADMK had voted with the treasury benches. The BJP is hoping to get the support of four of the six independent members and three of the four nominated members. The Congress has 50 members. With inputs from PTI