Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Election 2018: Congress, BJP Attempt to Woo BJD, TRS, YSRCP For Support
The names of TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and BJD leader Prasanna Acharya are doing the rounds for the post.
New Delhi, June 18: The Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post is set to be vacated on June 30. The Congress party has decided to contest the election and is seeking the support of Biju Janata Da (BJD), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), which has a majority in the House. In the Upper House, BJP has the support of 106 members, including that of 14 AIADMK members.
The names of TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and BJD leader Prasanna Acharya are doing the rounds for the post. The incumbent Deputy Chairman, PJ Kurien, will retire on June 30. The Congress has already decided not to renominate him.
In the Upper House, BJD has nine members, TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) has six members and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has two members who will play a crucial role during the election. Reportedly the TMC'S Leader Derek O' Brien is trying to convince these parties to field a non-Congress candidate but one who is backed by the Congress.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel also met TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, indicating that the Congress would be interested in being a part of the opposition coalition against the ruling BJP.
Furthermore, to woo the 17 members from these three parties both Congress and BJP are trying their level best. These three are said to be the deciding factor in electing for the next deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 12:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).