Opposition fields BK Hariprasad against NDA’s Harivansh for RS Dy Chairman’s poll

New Delhi, Aug 9:  It is all set for a contest between Congress Rajya Sabha MP B K Hariprasad and Harivansh Prasad Singh of JD (U) in the election for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, with the Opposition voicing confidence of its win, ahead of the August 9 election.
Mr Hariprasad, who was chosen as the joint opposition candidate for the August 9 election late on Tuesday night, on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the post.
Addressing reporters here, AICC senior spokesperson and Deputy leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma expressed confidence on the victory of the Opposition candidate.
‘We have a formidable candidate, not the NDA. If BJP had the majority, it should have fielded its own candidate. They have fielded a candidate of JD (U), which has made few changes in its position in the recent past. They lack the majority and that is why they are desperate to reach out to others outside the fold of NDA.
‘I am making it very clear. NDA as such did not have majority, does not have majority. They have gone well beyond the fold of NDA to get votes,’ Mr Sharma said.
Claiming that the Opposition had the numbers, he said ‘We have the numbers. There will be a contest. Congress didn’t have numbers on its own. But Mr Hariprasad is not a Congress candidate, he belongs to the Indian National Congress, but he is a candidate of the joint opposition.’
He said fielding a joint candidate for the election was a statement by the Opposition, which was not happy with the current state of affairs.
‘’In a democracy, there has to be a contest and fielding a joint opposition candidate is the statement of the opposition, which is not happy with the present state of the affairs and the prevailing environment in the country and therefore, this contest has to be taken in that spirit,’’he said.
Accusing the government of not making any effort to reach out to the Opposition in the choice of candidate for the Deputy Chairman’s post, he said, ‘By convention, normally the Opposition should have been consulted. The present Government does not believe in the practice of consulting the Opposition, nor does it believe in a consensus. Its actions have been opposite to what is called the consensus building in national politics.
The Government merely announced its decision or informed the opposition, did not show that courtesy and respect of consulting with senior leaders in the opposition. So we are as opposition doing what is expected of an opposition in a democracy.
Also, we are concerned about what is happening in our country and environment of fear, distrust, violence, intolerance and mob lynching. There is growing insecurity. Citizens don’t feel protected. Citizens are not having a full enjoyment of their fundamental rights. At the same time, there are mounting difficulties. So the opposition makes a statement by its actions and decisions. ‘’
He said that candidate of Mr Hariprasad had the backing of all opposition parties.
‘This is a joint decision of the parties which have been meeting and deliberating upon this matter for the last few days, which include the Samajwadi Party, the NCP, the BSP, the DMK, the CPI, the CPM and also we have TMC, TDP. TDP has also signed the nomination papers and now it is all set for the elections tomorrow,’’he said.
On the report of the opposition earlier considering name of Mrs vandana Chavan as its candidate, Mr Sharma said,’’ there were many names which were discussed. The opposition leaders met for three days and at yesterday’s deliberation Sharad Pawar Ji was there, Ghulam Nabi ji was there, Ram Gopal Ji, Satish Mishra Ji, Derek O’Brien Ji – Actually, every party leaders were there. So it is a collective decision that has been taken. The opposition was equally comfortable when it comes to Vandana Ji’s candidature. That was not the issue but now the candidate, who is before you, has been proposed by the entire opposition and Vandana Ji is one of the proposers.’’
Mr Sharma said that of the two candidates in the fray, Mr Hariprasad was a better candidate.
‘This is his third term in Parliament. A formidable candidate is a parliamentarian who can conduct the proceedings, who understand the functioning of the House. It’s not only the numbers that make the candidate formidable. Neither the BJP had the numbers nor the NDA but when it comes to the two candidates, we have a better candidate,’ he said.