With Nitish out of NDA, will RS deputy chief JDU’s Harivansh resign from post?

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, August 9

With the JDU walking out of the BJP-led NDA alliance and becoming the third saffron partner in 18 months after Shiv Sena and Akali Dal to do so, all eyes are now on Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, a JDU MP, if he would resign from his post.

In September 2020, as the ruling NDA’s candidate, Harivansh was re-elected the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had showered generous praise on the JDU leader who, he said, conducted the house with elan and grace.

Sources in the Parliament Secretariat said there was precedence of a presiding officer continuing to serve in the position despite his party withdrawing support from the ruling alliance.

The case in point is of 2008 when the then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who was expelled by CPM for not resigning from the post even after the Left party pulled out of the ruling UPA alliance over the Indo-US Nuclear Deal.

It remains to be seen what Harivansh will do after his party JDU has similarly walked out of the ruling NDA.