There was an uproar in the Bihar assembly on Wednesday on the third day of the five-day session as Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmakers jumped into the pit of the House of Representatives opposing the voice vote for the election of the president during the day.
Citing the presence of members of the legislative council, Bihar Prime Minister Nitish Kumar and Cabinet Minister Ashok Choudhary in the House, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said: “Rules must be followed during the election of the president”.
Protem, Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Chairman of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) party, Jitan Ram Manjhi, responded to Yadav’s claim. “Those in the other House are not voting for the election of President, but there is no problem with them being present here,” Manjhi said.
The RJD-led Grand Alliance (GA) has presented Awadh Bihari Choudhary as its candidate against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Vijay Kumar Sinha for the position of Speaker in the Bihar assembly. The Opposition measure is the first test of strength for the NDA government led by Prime Minister Nitish Kumar, which has a slim majority in the 243-member House.
“The RJD and GA allies, Congress and three left-wing parties, felt the need to run our own candidate, as Choudhary is a senior lawmaker with extensive experience and has the ability to lead the House in an impartial manner by achieving a balance between the opposition and the ruling parties. His election as president would help members raise people’s issues and get them addressed, ”said Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, leader of the GA and leader of the opposition in the assembly.
After presenting their nominations on Tuesday afternoon, both Choudhary, who has served six times on the RJD board of directors, and Sinha, a senior member of the BJP MLA, expressed their confidence in having the required number of members of the board of directors to win the elections. Both have served as ministers in previous governments.
The decision to introduce Choudhary is a break with the traditional practice of electing the Speaker unanimously. He points out how the Opposition, with its 110 MLAs, is not in the mood to give the NDA, with 126 MLAs, much room for maneuver within the assembly. More so, because the NDA relies heavily on the support of smaller allies such as Vikasheel Inssan Party (VIP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) (S).
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