Rajya Sabha

Last month, the Opposition was defeated in the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha where it secured 135 votes to the NDA’S 330. On Monday, Naidu informed the house that the poll would be held at 11 am on August 9 and nominations would have to be filed before noon on August 8. HT reported on Sunday that at a meeting with a top NDA leader, Naidu had asked the ruling side to expedite the process to elect the new Deputy Chairman — if possible, in the ongoing session itself.

Amidst reports that the NDA will field Janata Dal (United) lawmaker Harivansh for the post, the Congress, Trinamool Congress and some other Opposition parties have indicated that there is little chance of them supporting a ruling coalition nominee for the coveted post. “We expect a consensus will be built around an Opposition member for this post. If the NDA puts up a candidate, then we Opposition parties will sit together and decide on fielding our common candidate,” leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, the Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

Opposition leaders went into a huddle on Monday evening to decide their poll strategy. “Three names have been shortlisted: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Tiruchi Siva, Nationalist Congress Party’s Vandana Chavan and nominated member KTS Tulsi. But Chavan is seen as a frontrunner,” said a senior leader who asked not to be identified. Another meeting will be held on Tuesday. A large section of the Opposition including the Congress feels that if an NCP candidate is fielded, it might help in winning over NDA allies such as the Shiv Sena. “Pawar is one of the most influential political figures of this time. He may even get votes from some other regional parties who would never vote for