Harivansh Singh elected Dy. Chairman of RS; 'he belongs to the country now', says Cong

While Harivansh is a first-time MP of the JD-U, Hariprasad is a three-time parliamentarian of the Congress.

New Delhi: The election of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha took place on Thursday and the house elected NDA nominee Harivansh Narayan Singh elected with majority of 125 votes. UPA candidate BK Hariprasad on the other hand bagged 98 votes. Though neither Bharatiya Janta Party, nor Congress held a majority in the house, the NDA won by seeking help from various other parties. Immediately after the election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Harivansh Narayan Singh and lauded him in the house. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and snior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad congratulated Singh saying, "In elections, someone wins and someone loses. But the Deputy Chairman is no longer associated with any single party. He belongs to the country now."

Working closely with Chandra Shekhar Ji, Harivansh Ji knew in advance that Chandra Shekhar Ji would resign. However, he did not let his own paper have access to this news. This shows his commitment to ethics and public service: PM @narendramodi #RajyaSabhaDeputyChairman pic.twitter.com/7caei0jbHe

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) August 9, 2018

Leader of House Arun Jaitley, who attended the Rajya Sabha for the first time in the ongoing monsoon session after recuperating from an illness, also congratulated Singh on his election. "I am confident that Harivansh Singh would uphold the integrity of the post." LATEST UPDATES: 

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• Working closely with Chandra Shekhar Ji, Harivansh Ji knew in advance that Chandra Shekhar Ji would resign. However, he did not let his own paper have access to this news. This shows his commitment to ethics and public service: PM
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• PM Modi congratulates Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh in Rajya Sabha

• Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad congratulates newly elected Deputy Chairman of upper house of the parliament
• NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh attains majority, elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha with 125 votes
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We have decided to abstain from voting for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman elections. Both Congress and BJP have not fulfilled the promises made to Andhra Pradesh: V. Vijayasai Reddy,YSR Congress MP pic.twitter.com/iF6rpVzICW

— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2018

• UPA candidate for Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election BK Hariprasad says "Confident of victory, we have required numbers"
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The BJD will support the JD(U) since the two parties have emerged from the Jay Prakash Narayan movement, while the Congress candidate was the AICC in-charge of Odisha and vitriolic in his statements against the BJD, Patnaik said. The numbers, therefore, appear stacked in favour of the ruling coalition which claims the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs. While Harivansh is a first-time MP of the JD-U, Hariprasad is a three-time parliamentarian of the Congress. The BJD has nine MPs in the Upper House.