Amit Shah called Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday and sought support for the August 9 election, Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. (Photo: IANS)
The Shiv Sena on Tuesday clarified its stand and said it would support the NDA’s nominee in the election for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman’s post.
BJP president Amit Shah called his Sena counterpart Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday and sought support for the August 9 election, Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai.
“Amit Shah called up Uddhav-ji today and sought Shiv Sena’s support. We have decided to give our support to the JD(U) because the post of deputy chairman is apolitical,” he told PTI.
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Janata Dal (United) MP Harivansh Narayan Singh has emerged as the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the post.
Harivansh is a first-timer in the Upper House and a former Editor of Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar.
Earlier, Opposition parties seemed to have finalised the name of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Vandana Chavan as a joint candidate for election to the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, but later NCP withdrew her name.
Chavan, who has been a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, is a second-time Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra.
The nomination papers will have to be filed before noon on Wednesday.
The floor leaders of the opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha met on Tuesday afternoon in Parliament to decide on the final name of the nominee.
Read More | NCP’s Vandana Chavan is Opposition’s pick for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post
The post of the deputy chairman has been lying vacant since June this year following the retirement of PJ Kurien, who had been elected to the Upper House on a Congress ticket from Kerala.
The current strength of the Rajya Sabha is 244 and support of 123 members would be needed for a win in the full House.
On Monday, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had announced that the election for the deputy chairman’s post would be held at 11 AM on August 9.
The BJP is the largest party in the House with 73 members. Among its allies, the JD(U) has six MPs while the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal have three each.
The BJP is also hoping to get support of four of the six Independent members and three of the four nominated members.
The Congress has 50 members.
(With agency inputs)
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