RS deputy chairman poll: Kejriwal rejects Nitish's request for support, AAP to abstain from voting

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will abstain from voting during the election of deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha tomorrow, said RS member and AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
Singh, in a tweet, said that AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal was asked by JD(U) leader and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to support his party's candidate.
"It is not possible to support the candidate of JD(U), which is in alliance with BJP at the centre," Singh wrote.The AAP leader further added that since Congress doesn't want a vote for its party, there is no other option left with AAP than to abstain from voting.

Earlier today, AAP had said that it may not vote for opposition nominee BK Hariprasad in the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election, unless Rahul Gandhi asks Arvind Kejriwal for support.
"If Rahul Gandhi can hug Narendra Modi, why cannot he ask Arvind Kejriwal for support to his party's candidate," Singh said.
Earlier today, the Aam Aadmi Party had said it may not vote for opposition nominee BK Hariprasad in the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election, unless Rahul Gandhi asks Arvind Kejriwal for support.
"If they (the Congress) ask for our vote, we will oblige. It is meaningless to vote compulsively (for the Congress), if they do not need it," AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh told reporters.
Dubbing the Congress as a "mean-spirited" party, Singh said the AAP voted in favour of its candidates in the elections for the President and the Vice President, even without being asked for it.
"We voted in favour of their candidates in the elections for President and Vice President but they did not even had the courtesy to say thank you."
A keen contest is on the cards tomorrow between NDA nominee Harivansh and joint opposition candidate BK Hariprasad for the post of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, with both sides claiming majority support.
The numbers, however, appear stacked in favour of the ruling coalition which claims the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs.
While Harivansh is a first-time MP of the JD-U, Hariprasad is a three-time parliamentarian of the Congress.
Both the ruling NDA and the opposition camp gave notices on behalf of their respective candidates and their papers have been found to be in order, according to sources in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
The election will be held at 11 am tomorrow, soon after the laying of papers. The post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since the retirement of P J Kurien on July 1.
The opposition camp is claiming support of various parties, including Congress, TMC, DMK, Left parties, SP, BSP, NCP, TDP.
On the other hand, the ruling NDA is intact, with the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal extending their full support to the official nominee, besides also by independent parties like the AIADMK and the TRS.
(With inputs from agencies)