Opposition Picks Vandana Chavan For Rajya Sabha No 2 Post

The opposition has picked Vandana Chavan, a 57-year-old member of Sharad Pawar's party for the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Speaker. Hectic meetings are being held and phones are being worked since morning by both NDA and the opposition ahead of Thursday's election. The government, which is fielding Harivansh Narayan Singh, a party man of ally Nitish Kumar, is trying to bring disgruntled allies like the Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena on board. Sources in the BJP said both parties will stand by the government. But insiders in the parties say they are yet to decide between voting and abstention. Naveen Patnaik's BJD is undecided as well, sources said.