NDA outwits Oppn in RS prestige fight
JD(U)’S Harivansh defeats Congress candidate Hariprasad, gets support of 125 MPS out of 244
NEW DELHI: In a political and psychological victory for the government, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, Janata Dal (United) MP Harivansh, was elected deputy chair of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, with the support of 125 MPS in the house of 244 MPS.
Opposition candidate, Congress’ BK Hariprasad, got 101 votes. The victory comes as a boost for government, especially since it does not have a majority in the upper house and has not had much luck in steering legislations through it. Both the chair, vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, and the new deputy chair come from the NDA stable, although their roles put them above partisan affiliations.
The electoral outcome reflected the hard political competition and cold arithmetic that marks the landscape ahead of elections in key states later this year and the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, as well as the continued edge the Narendra Modi-led NDA enjoys over an opposition that’s struggling to unite.
The subsequent proceedings in the house, after the outcome, however, also reflected a democratic spirit of collaboration and bonhomie in the polity.
The BJP itself has only 73 MPS in the house, which has an existing strength of 244.
But it succeeded in keeping its entire NDA flock together, and winning over three key players --Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi through careful preparation and investing political capital from the very top. “Our party president had predicted 125 votes and we got exactly that. The numbers are a political and moral victory for us. It exposes the myth of the opposition unity. And it also shows at that a time when critics say BJP is getting isolated, we are able to expand our alliances and partnerships,” said a senior minister, who did not wish to be identified. “Ham haarne ki baazi nahin khelte (We don’t play to lose).” The opposition candidate, Hariprasad, was a last-minute pick after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) decided not to put up a candidate on Tuesday. The NCP’S decision, in turn, was motivated by Sharad Pawar’s call to Patnaik, who made it clear to the former that the BJD would support the NDA candidate.
“Not putting up a candidate was not an option for us. The ruling side often seeks to create a consensus for such positions. But the NDA showed no such inclination and wanted to impose a choice on us,” said a Congress leader .