Hyderabad: The YSR Congress party on Tuesday decided to vote against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman`s election. Party leader and Rajya Sabha member V Vijaysai Reddy announced that the party will vote against Janta Dal-United (JD-U) MP Harivansh Narayan Singh, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA's candidate.
The YSR Congress, the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, has two members in the upper House of Parliament.
Five Lok Sabha members of the YSR Congress have resigned to protest the Centre's refusal to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
The party had earlier backed NDA candidates in the presidential and vice presidential elections.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu had earlier announced that the new Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman will be elected on August 9. The post of the Deputy Chairman fell vacant after P.J. Kurien retired in July. The election will be held a day before the conclusion of the monsoon session of Parliament.
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.
