RS post: Cong. to pick candidate

Consensus eludes opposition after three meetings; NDA yet to declare choice

Opposition parties have left it to the Congress to pick a candidate for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha after three meetings.

The decision was taken during a final meeting in Parliament House at 6 p.m. Sources said NCP leader Praful Patel, who attended the meeting, clarified that his party never wanted to put up a candidate and speculation about its MP Vandana Chavan was unfounded.

DMK cautious

Tiruchi Siva of the DMK lost the race, after he failed to get the green signal from the party’s working president, M.K. Stalin. According to sources, the DMK felt it was not right time to get into a direct fight with the NDA.

“It was decided that the Congress should pick a candidate; it could be anyone from within the party or outside such as the nominated member K.T.S. Tulsi. Mr. Tulsi’s name came up during the discussions. However, someone mentioned that he only has 14 months of the tenure remaining. The Congress will inform us by tonight,” a senior Opposition member said.

The government is yet to announce formally that it would back Janata Dal(U) MP Harivansh Narayan Singh as its candidate.

NDA fissures

The ruling BJP is faced with depleted ranks with former allies and existing ones turning against them.

The Shiromani Akali Dal, which felt it had some claim on the seat, have publicly aired its differences. The party was yet to clarify its position.

The AIADMK, which has 13 MPs, has announced that it will be backing the government’s candidate.

Suspense continues to prevail over the stance of the other disgruntled ally, the Shiv Sena, which has three MPs. The party could refrain from voting just the way it did during the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on July 20.

The YSR Congress Party has declared that it would not be supporting the government, while an erstwhile ally, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with two MPs, said it would be abstaining.

Sources said BJP president Amit Shah and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik for support from his chunk of nine MPs. However, Mr Patnaik has not clarified his position.