Opposition unity against BJP falters once again as NDA wins Dy Chairman’s election

New Delhi, Aug 9: The so-called unity of the opposition parties was once again exposed to the public scrutiny in just 20-days time when first no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha fell with voice vote and now opposition supported candidate of the Congress B K Hari Prasad was defeated by the ruling alliance's candidate Haribans Narayan Singh in the Rajya Sabha for the post of deputy chairman.

Janata Dal (U) Rajya Sabha member Harivansh Narayan Singh has won the election by bagging the support of 125 MPs in the Upper House, while his opponent and Congress leader B K Hariprasad was fielded by a joint opposition secured 105 vote. Political analysts said that the Congress failed the manage the floor once again. It is not only that several anti-BJP political outfits like AAP and YRS Congress did not support the Congress but some of them even voted for the NDA candidate.

If the Congress failed to unite the entire opposition, the BJP managed to break some of the opposition parties to its side. Analyst also say that the way BJP fielded JD (U) leader, the Congress could have fielded from one of its allies to make the fight more interesting. So the BJP has not only been able to keep its support intact but also convenience leaders like Nabin Patnaik to vote for its candidate. The image of Haribansh Narayan also helped the NDA winning the prestigious position.

The post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha was mostly occupied by the Congress. From 1952 to 1969, it was occupied by the Congress but in 1969 it was taken over by B D Khobragade of the republic Party of India, who was in the chair till 1972. Godey Murahari of Samyukta Socialist Party took over in April 72 and was there till 1977. After March 1977, it was all through the Congress till July 2018 when P J Kurian had retired. Najma Heptulla occupied the chair for maximum time.