The tussle for the post of Deputy Chairperson in the Rajysabha: Election on 9th August.
With less than a year to go to next Lok Sabha polls in 2019, Opposition parties have once again got a chance to showcase their unity and strength in the election for the deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha after the recently introduced no-confidence motion which didn’t pass in the lower house of the parliament.
The post of Deputy Chairperson has been lying vacant since the June this year following the retirement of Prof. P J Kurien. Both the NDA and opposition parties are likely to field the JD(U)’s Harivansh Narayan Singh and Congress’s Hariprasad respectively in the fray for which election will be held on Thursday.
As the NDA doesn’t enjoy the majority in the upper house of the parliament, it would like the candidate of their choice to be the next deputy chairperson so that it may have ease in getting passed the bills in the house. While the opposition would like to ensure the candidate of their choice so that the opposition unity in terms of defeating NDA could become more prominent.
Article 89 of the Indian Constitution stipulates the post of Deputy Chairperson in the Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha presides over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
What is the process of election of Deputy Chairperson?
The process of the election is very simple. The constitution mandates that the members of the Rajya Sabha would choose one of the members amongst themselves for this post. For this, any member of the Rajya Sabha can submit a motion proposing the name of his colleague (a Rajya Sabha MP). Which should be seconded another MP of the same house. And the MP whose name is being proposed for the post, the member who is moving the motion has to submit a declaration signed him stating that the MP will serve as the Deputy Chairperson if elected. Each MP is allowed to move or second only one motion.
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