Govt, opposition set to have electoral face-off again; Rajya Sabha’s deputy chairman polls to be held on Aug 9
New Delhi, August 7: The Government and opposition are all set to have electoral face-off for the post of the Rajya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman. Notably, the much-awaited election for the Rajya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman will be held on Thursday this week i.e 9th of August.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday announced the schedule of both nominations and voting. The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since June this year following the retirement of P J Kurien, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala.
The BJP -led NDA government does not enjoy a majority in the House as it has only 93 members while the opposition has 118 MPs on its side in the 244-member strong Upper House. Therefore, BJP would need the support of several regional parties to push for the election of its candidate.
Importantly, the Deputy Chairman’s election will see the second electoral battle between the two camps in this session. Last month, the Opposition was defeated in the no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha where it secured 135 votes to the NDA’s 326.