Suspense over Najma Heptulla’s successor ended today as the BJP agreed to the candidature of Congress’ K. Rahman Khan — Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers — for the post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The election is scheduled for July 22.However, the BJP accord with Congress was followed by discord at home — with the oldest ally Shiv Sena promptly fielding Eknath Thakur to ensure at least a token fight.Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam told The Indian Express that his party had decided to field Thakur to make two points. He said: ‘‘One, we are not prepared to give the Congress a walk-over.’’ More so, when the Congress had failed to display any grace by facilitating a unanimous election of the vice-president last time. It had fielded Sushilkumar Shinde against Bhairon Singh Shekhawat even though it did not stand any chance of defeating him. ‘‘Two,’’ he said, ‘‘the BJP had not consulted its allies before making any commitment to the Congress.’’ He said Thakur’s name was proposed after a word from party supremo Bal Thackeray.Khan’s candidature was announced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. According to him, Khan — who handed his resignation to the PM —fulfilled the criteria of being a Muslim and hailing from the south. A chartered accountant, 65-year-old Khan is a former chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council.Azad said: ‘‘The Congress did not want an election. The question before us was to have a consensus.’’ Disclosing that BJP leader Jaswant Singh had conveyed the party’s decision to back Khan, the minister added: ‘‘We had been pursuing the matter with BJP so that there is a consensus as in the case of Lok Sabha Speaker and deputy speaker.’’Azad said he had held consultations with leaders of all parties, including former prime minister A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani. He initiated the exercise two weeks ago with a meeting with UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav who assured him of his party’s support to the Congress candidate.Azad said Khan’s name was finalised at a meeting of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. When asked if his name was discussed at meetings with leaders of other parties, the minister claimed everybody had left the choice to the Congress.The choice of the Karnataka leader took everybody by surprise. Initial reports had suggested that his name cropped up after BJP refused to accept Vyalar Ravi’s name. However, sources in BJP said it was not true. ‘‘It was their choice,’’ they said.
