Opposition parties hold meeting to select candidates for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post

Leaders of several opposition parties on Monday held a meeting in the national capital to discuss their strategies and select candidate for the election of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman. However, another meeting of opposition leaders will take place again on Tuesday to select candidate for the high-profile post.

The election to the post of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha will be held at 11 AM on August 9, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced on Monday.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, SP's Ram Gopal Yadav, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra, NCP's Praful Patel, CPI's D Raja, TMC's Derek O'Brien, RJD's Misa Bharti, CPI(M)'s T K Rangarajan and TDP's C M Ramesh were among those who attended the meeting in Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad's chamber in Parliament House.

They met to prepare the opposition strategy for the election and discuss various names for zeroing in on a candidate they can jointly field against the NDA nominee. JD(U) MP Harivansh is likely to be the NDA candidate, sources said.

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Earlier, Naidu had suggested that the deputy chairman should be elected by consensus. However, as of now, it appears an election would take place for the post with the opposition likely to field a candidate as well, the sources added.

The nomination papers will have to be filed before noon on August 8. The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since June this year following the retirement of P J Kurien, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala.

(With inputs from PTI)