Outgoing Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh was re-elected to the post on Monday by voice vote after the Opposition decided not to press for a division in what was anyway a certain victory for the NDA candidate from the Janata Dal United.

The numbers, according to Trinamul’s Derek O’Brien, were stacked against the Opposition. “We need to choose our battles; then only can we win the war.’’

The Opposition candidate, RJD’s Manoj Jha, said he was informed by the Congress in the afternoon that they would not ask for a division.

He received plaudits for agreeing to contest despite the odds essentially to make the point that democracy is about alternatives, and found his letter to all MPs being quoted by more than one member.

Congratulating Harivansh, BJD’s Prasanna Acharya referred to Jha’s letter and quoted: “Constructive political opposition is not just about numbers but it is a critical and moral force in the nation.”

In his intervention to congratulate Harivansh, Jha said this was never an issue of two individuals. “This was an election between two different versions of parliamentary democracy,’’ he said, one which sees it only as a numbers game, and the other which prioritises critique, discussion and consensus building.