Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson polls: BJD may turn the king-maker

BHUBANESWAR: With the election of Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha scheduled to be held on August 9, the spotlight is again on the BJD.

While the Opposition unity has queered the pitch for the BJP-led NDA in the Upper House, which was reflected on Monday in the election of TDP MP CM Ramesh getting elected to the Public Accounts Committee, the BJD can emerge the king-maker.

Though BJP is the single largest party in Rajya Sabha, it does not have a clear majority and may fall short of numbers to win the post. The BJD’s role with nine members in the Upper House of Parliament has become crucial in this background.

The recent bonhomie between the BJD and BJP witnessed over the issue of national register of citizens (NRC) has led political observers to speculate on the stand to be taken by the BJD. BJP president Amit Shah’s praise of BJD for its support and the spirited defence of NRC by the regional outfit in the Rajya Sabha no doubt point towards a tilt towards NDA.

However, several BJD leaders dismissed such a possibility and maintained that the party is steadfast in its policy of maintaining equi-distance from the BJP and Congress.

Meanwhile, JD(U)’s Harivansh Narayan Singh is likely to be the NDA candidate even as the name of BJD’s Prasanna Acharya had also made rounds as Opposition candidate.

However, neither the NDA, UPA nor the BJD has officially come out with any announcement. A senior BJD leader said a decision on the party’s stand will be taken only on August 8, the day of filing of nomination papers.

Out of the total 245 seats in the Rajya Sabha, NDA has 115 seats while the UPA has 113 seats. For a majority, a party needs 123 votes which the two alliances do not have.

The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since July following the retirement of PJ Kurien, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala.