NDA candidate and JD(U) leader Harivansh Narayan Singh became the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha after securing 125 votes against 105 gained by opposition’s candidate and the three-time Congress parliamentarian BK Hariprasad.

The voting was undertaken twice as some of the MPs complained that they could not register their vote on the machine.

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After the proceedings of election were concluded, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Harivansh Singh and, addressing the Rajya Sabha said, “I congratulate Harivansh ji on behalf of the whole house. He has been blessed with the talent of writing. He was also a favourite of former PM Chandra Shekhar ji.”

“Working closely with Chandra Shekhar Ji, Harivansh Ji knew in advance that Chandra Shekhar Ji would resign. However, he did not let his own paper have access to this news. This shows his commitment to ethics and public service. His experience, commitment and expertise of dealing people will help the House. He had earlier run a column on how the parliamentarians of the country should work. Little did he know that he will one day be the Deputy Chairperson of the House. We all will benefit from his experience,” he added.

Earlier, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addressed the House and welcomed Union Minister Arun Jaitley in the House after a brief illness. Azad also congratulated Harivansh Singh for winning the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman saying that, “In elections, some on wins and someone loses. But the Deputy Chairman is no longer a part of any single party. He belongs to the country now. In fact, I believe that Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the House should in-fact support the Opposition as they are more undernourished than that of the ruling party.”

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday attended the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha for the first time after undergoing a renal transplant in May. He underwent a renal transplant on May 14 and on the same day, his ministerial charges were given to Piyush Goyal on an interim basis.