Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members asking them to remain present in the House on September 14, the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament. The party issued the whip a day after JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called up BJD supremo and his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik to extend support to NDA nominee Harivansh Narayan Singh for the post of the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman.
Harivansh Narayan Singh, a Janata Dal (United) MP, had filed nomination for the post on Wednesday. All the Biju Janata Dal Members in Rajya Sabha are hereby informed that some very important Legislative Business will be taken up for discussion and passing in the Rajya Sabhaon September 14, 2020.
“All Members of Biju Janata Dal in Rajya Sabha are therefore requested to be positively present in the House throughout the day on September 14, 2020,” said BJD Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha, Sasmit Patra. The election to the post of the Deputy Chairman of the Upper House is likely to be held on September 14.
Though Nitish Kumar had requested Patnaik to support the NDA nominee, the BJD was yet to reveal its stand. When asked about the party’s position, BJD MP Subhas Singh said that its president will take the final decision.
The BJD had supported Harivansh Narayan Singh in the last election. The election for the post was necessitated as the incumbent Harivansh Narayan Singh had completed his term as a member of the Rajya Sabha in April this year. He was sent to the Upper House of Parliament again from Bihar.
In 2018, he had defeated Congress’s BK Hariprasad and was elected the deputy chairman. Harivansh Narayan Singh is likely to be elected to the post again as BJP floor managers are confident of securing the support of about 140 MPs, including the fence-sitters YSR Congress, TRS and BJD.
The strength of the BJP-led NDA has also gradually increased to more than 114 in the House with an effective strength of 244 members as there is one vacancy. Floor managers of NDA are trying to build a consensus among all parties so that Harivansh Narayan Singh could be elected unanimously.
The Congress has decided that the opposition will put up a joint candidate for the post and it will reach out to various parties in this regard. BJD has nine members in the Rajya Sabha of the 10 seats from Odisha, while the other one is held by the BJP.
BJP’s Ashiwini Baishnab was elected to the Rajya Sabha with the support of the BJD in June last year..
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