Live: NDA's Harivansh is the new Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha, defeats Opposition candidate

Cabinet approves amendment in Triple Talaq Bill. Although the offence continues to remain non-bailable but magistrate can give bail.

PM Modi takes a jibe at the Opposition candidate

"Both sides in this election had a 'hari' (Harivansh Narayan and BK Hariprasad) but one had a BK, koi nahi bike," he said.

PM Modi: "I congratulate Harivansh ji on behalf of the whole house. He has been blessed with the talent of writing. He was also a favourite of former PM Chandra Shekhar ji"

Opposition congratulates newly elected Deputy Chairperson  

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad congratulated the newly elected Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh. Azad hoped that as the Deputy Chairperson, he will pay heed to the objections raised by the Opposition and won't be partial towards the NDA government.     

PM Modi congratulates the new Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Harivansh Narayan Singh on being elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. 

PM Narendra Modi congratulates NDA Candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh who was elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman pic.twitter.com/lTy2yRpxik

— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2018

NDA candidate Harivansh is the new Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

After the correction of votes, 125 votes have been polled in favour of NDA nominee Harivansh while UPA candidate BK Hariprasad got 105 votes.

The current tally as per the division of votes is 122 votes for NDA nominee Harivansh, 98 for UPA candidate BK Hariprasad, two abstained. 

Voice vote for Rajya Sabha chairperson inconclusive, Chairman calls for division of votes

The voting for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson has begun, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu asks the lobbies for the Upper House to be cleared. The rules of the voting are being read out.

Lok Sabha, meanwhile, was adjourned for five minutes amid uproar by TRS Members seeking defence land for Telangana. 

NDA lacks majority: Congress

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said the NDA does not have the majority in Rajya Sabha, else the BJP would have fielded its own candidate. "We have a formidable candidate, not the NDA. The BJP, if it had the majority, should have fielded its own candidate. Neither the BJP had the numbers, nor the NDA, but when it comes to the two candidates, we have a better candidate. I am making it very clear. The NDA as such did not have majority, does not have majority. They have gone well beyond the fold of the NDA to get votes," he said.
 

AAP may abstain from voting 

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh said that it cannot support Janata Dal-United candidate Harivansh as he has the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party whereas Congress President Rahul Gandhi had not spoken so far to AAP Convenor Kejriwal for support to the opposition candidate B.K. Hariprasad. "Nitish Kumarji called up Arvind Kejriwalji and sought AAP support for his party`s candidate. As it is not possible to vote for BJP-backed JD-U candidate. If Rahul Gandhiji does not need our support for his party`s candidate, the Aam Aadmi Party has no option but to skip voting," Singh said. 

Singh also retweeted the tweets by a party worker in which he had taken digs at the Congress. The tweets said that the Congress does politics with a"narrow mind" and that the AAP had supported Congress candidates in the presidential and vice-presidential elections but the main opposition party did not express gratitude. 

The post of the Deputy Chairman fell vacant after PJ Kurien retired in July. The election is likely to be a close affair as the opposition bloc has an edge over the BJP-led NDA in terms of numbers.

Arun Jaitley and other BJP MPs in Rajya Sabha ahead of voting for Deputy Chairman elections pic.twitter.com/Em7ljg55Py

— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2018

Biju Janta Dal will be supporting JDU

The Biju Janta Dal on Thursday said that it will be supporting the JDU... "since the JDU and the BJD have similar ideological origins-emerging from Jay Prakash Narayan movement. Congress candidate was AICC in charge of Odisha till recently and was vitriolic in his statements against BJD and State," BJD said in a statement on Thursday.

YSR Congress to abstain from voting

YSR Congress will be abstaining from voting today. "We have decided to abstain from voting for Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman elections. Both Congress and BJP have not fulfilled the promises made to Andhra Pradesh," YSR Congress MP V. Vijayasai Reddy said. Earlier, there were reports that the YSR Congress party will be voting against the NDA candidate in the polls.

The YSR Congress, the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, has two members in the upper House of Parliament.

Harivansh Narayan Singh, NDA's candidate for the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman is confident of a win in the polls today. "We are confident of our win and election result is a foregone conclusion," Harivansh Narayan Singh said.

The BJP has issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the house today for the voting for Deputy Chairperson.