NEW DELHI: Several opposition parties decided on Thursday to present RJD leader Manoj Jha as their joint candidate for the Sept. 14 election of Rajya Sabha’s vice president.
Jha will present his nomination papers on Friday in the presence of leaders of various opposition parties.
He will compete against JD-U’s NDA Harivansh nominee. Harivansh was the vice president of RS until his previous term ended. Since then he has been re-elected to the Upper House of Bihar.
Jha was teaching at the University of Delhi when he entered politics and became a member of the Rajya Sabha. He is also the national spokesperson for the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
RJD and JDU are archrivals in Bihar, where elections to the assembly will be held very soon and Rajya Sabha will witness a battle between the two regional parties.
Sources said that several opposition leaders, including the opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Deputy Leader of Congress Anand sharma, RS Congress whip boss Jairam Ramesh and others from TMC, left wing parties, DMK, AAP and some other parties, will accompany Jha when he presents his nomination papers.
Congress had said it will not let the vice president position go unopposed and will run a joint candidate.
Rajya Sabha member MV Shreyams Kumar endorsed Jha’s candidacy, calling his victory “crucial” to upholding the country’s democratic values.
“I offer my support for the candidacy of Professor Manoj Jha. His candidacy and his victory are crucial for the unity of the opposition and for defending the democratic values of our country,” said MV Shreyams Kumar, who is also the leader of Loktantrik Janata Dal, in a statement.
Harivansh had defeated Congress leader BK Hariprasad the last time and won by 125-105 votes in the elections held in August 2018. Since then, the NDA has further strengthened its position in Rajya Sabha.
Harivansh already submitted his nomination papers on Wednesday.
Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish kumar Thursday he dialed Odisha’s number Naveen Patnaik, seeking his party’s support for Harivansh, the sources said.
Patnaik’s BJD had supported Harivansh in the last election.
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