By the time you read this, the 12th Deputy Chairman of India’s Rajya Sabha would have perhaps already been elected. The race is between two “Haris” – while the NDA has fielded JD(U)’s Harivansh Narayan Singh (age 62), a first-time Rajya Sabha member, representing Bihar and a former journalist, the Opposition has picked Congress’ BK Hariprasad (age 634) – also a first time Rajya Sabha member – as its candidate.
If NDA’s HN Singh wins, it will be the first time in 41 years (since March 1977) when a non-Congress candidate occupies this post. SV Krishna Rao served in the post for almost 10 years, K. Rahman Khan for almost eight years, Najma Heptullah and Violet Alva for 7+ years each. Three of the 11 Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairmen have been women. One – Pratibha Patil – went on to become the President of India.