Prasad to become BJP deputy leader in RS

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and chief spokesperson of the party Ravi Shankar Prasad will now be the new Deputy Leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha. Prasad's name was recommended by senior BJP leader L K Advani, who wrote to Vice-President Hamid Ansari in this regard.

The position has been was lying vacant since S S Ahluwalia completed his term in April this year and was unable to get re-elected from Jharkhand. The appoint ment of his successor was delayed as there were differences within the party over who would be the deputy leader in the Upper house. Though Prasad's name had been doing the rounds, sources say that the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was not keen on his name as he his already the chief spokesperson of the party. Sources say that Jaitley felt that handling both the responsibilities would be a cumbersome task for Prasad as both require much attention.

However, the choice got limited as the other leaders 'with stature' like party's chief whip Maya Singh, party spokesperson Prakash Javedkar, party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and former president Venkaiah Naidu either failed to enthuse confidence or find acceptability among all the factions. Prasad made the cut as he had both the requisite stature and also backing of party veteran LK Advani. The leader from Bihar was recently given a third term in the Rajya Sabha from his state.