'I'm grateful' says Harivansh Singh on being re-elected as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

On the first day of Parliament Monsoon session, Janata Dal (United) candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh got re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Upper House by voice vote. He was contesting against RJD member Manoj Jha. On being re-elected the journalist-turned-politician said, “There are instances in life when words leave us… It is my honour of having been born in JP’s village."

Harivansh Narayan said, “I am grateful to all of you that you considered fit to give this important responsibility to a person who hails from a very ordinary family based in a village and who never went to an English-medium school.”

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Rajya Sabha re-elects Harivansh Narayan 

BJP President JP Nadda had nominated Harivansh's name for the election. The election for the post of Deputy Chairman of the upper house was necessitated as Harivansh had completed his term as the Deputy Chairman this year. Back in 2018, he had defeated Congress' BK Hariprasad for this post. On the re-election of the Janata Dal Party, PM Narendra Modi along with other party members also congratulated him. 

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PM Modi said, “The respect I hold for Harivansh Ji, each member of the House shares. He has earned this respect. His unbiased role in the Parliament strengthens our democracy. After becoming an MP, Harivanshi Ji has always ensured how all MPs can become more dutiful. The journalist inside him has stayed alive."

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Who is Harivansh Narayan?

The newly-elected Deputy Chairman of the upper house is a journalist by profession. Previously Harivansh Narayan worked as the editor of Prabhat Khabar and also served as the media advisor to the 8th Prime Minister of India, Chandra Shekhar Singh. Born in Sitab Diara in 1956, Singh graduated from the Banaras Hindu University. In April 2014, he was elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha and is known to be a close aide of Nitish Kumar.

Bihar Assembly elections 

Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Bihar Assembly election is expected to take place in October-November 2020. In the 2015 assembly polls, CM Nitish Kumar's JDU, then a part of the Mahagathbandhan won 71 seats, Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD won 80 seats, and Congress won 27 seats. The BJP which fought the elections alone after Kumar in 2013 broke the 17-year-old alliance won a mere 53 seats out of 157 contested. However, the saffron party came back to power when Kumar ditched the Mahagathbandhan and once again stitched an alliance with the BJP.

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