Rajya Sabha Dy Chairman Polls: Congress BK Hariprasad sure of win

Congress party's nominee for the Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson's post, BK Hariprasad on Wednesday claimed that his candidature has the support of the opposition parties.

Hariprasad told ANI that the Congress will talk with the opposition parties and will then decide their further course of action.

"When the party arrived at a conclusion, it must have done so after evaluating all the aspects. We will initiate talks with all opposition leaders in this regard, to decide further course of action," he said.

"We could not reach on a consensus with the central government in this regard but we do have the support of the opposition parties," he added.

The Rajya Sabha for the post its Deputy Chairman elections will be held on August 9.

So far, the name of Nationalist Congress Party's Vandana Chavan was tipped to be the opposition's consensus candidate for the post.

According to media reports, Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Satish Mishra and Trinamool Congress' Derek o Brien proposed Chavan's name.

The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since June after the retirement of Congress leader PJ Kurien.

Meanwhile, Janata Dal (United) leader Harivansh Narayan Singh is likely to be the National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the post.

Earlier on Monday, Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu suggested that the Deputy Chairman should be elected by consensus.

The nomination papers will have to be filed before noon on August 8.

--ANI