New Delhi, Aug 6: The election to the post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha will be held on Thursday.
Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu announced this in the Upper House on Monday. Reportedly, Naidu had called for the ruling and opposition parties to build a consensus on next Deputy Chairman of the Upper House. "I hope the ruling and the opposition parties will find a suitable replacement with consensus for Prof Kurien as the election of new Deputy Chairperson will be held soon," Naidu had said. The Congress would look to retain its position and take advantage of the fact that the NDA is in minority in the Upper House. The elections became necessary as the term of P J Kurien ended on July 1. While the BJP is the single largest party in the Upper House, it is still short of a clear majority. It would find it hard to get its candidate for the post elected, provided the opposition stands united. At present, the BJD has nine members in the Rajya Sabha, one requires 122 votes to win the deputy chairman election in the House of 245 members. The BJP has 67 members, and the Congress 51 in the House. The Sena has three Rajya Sabha members in Rajya Sabha - Sanjay Raut, Anil Desai and Rajkumar Dhoot - all from Maharashtra.