Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dials Naveen for Harivansh support

BHUBANESWAR: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday dialed Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and sought his support for JDU candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh for the post of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, election for which is scheduled on September 14.

Harivansh filed nomination for the post as the NDA nominee on Wednesday.

Sources said that the JDU chief requested BJD President Naveen to extend his party’s support to the NDA candidate.The BJD had supported Harivansh in the last Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman election in 2018. 

Election for the post was necessitated as the incumbent Harivansh completed his term as a member of the Rajya Sabha since April 9 this year. He was sent to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar again. 

Harivansh had defeated Congress candidate BK Hariprasad in the 2018 election. BJD Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik said that the Chief Minister will take a decision in this regard by considering all aspects. “Election is going to be held on September 14 and you will be informed about the Chief Minister’s decision before that,” he said.

BJD has nine members in Rajya Sabha out of the 10 seats from Odisha. The other one is held by the BJP’s Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was elected to Upper House with the support of BJD in June last year. 

Sources said that Harivansh is likely to be elected to the post again as the NDA floor managers are confident of securing the support of YSR Congress, TRS and BJD.