In August 2018, who was elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament?

Introduction / Context:
The position of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is an important parliamentary office in India. While the Vice President of India is the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman is elected by the members of the House from among themselves and presides in the absence of the Chairman. This question asks about a specific person who was elected to this post in August 2018, a fact that has appeared in current affairs and polity based general knowledge questions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The office in question is the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• The time frame is August 2018.
• Options include M. Venkaiah Naidu, Harivansh Singh, Nitish Kumar, and Hari Prasad.
• We assume awareness that M. Venkaiah Naidu was then serving as Vice President and therefore ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Concept / Approach:
The Deputy Chairman is elected by the Rajya Sabha from among its members. On 9 August 2018, Harivansh, a first time member belonging to the Janata Dal United, was elected Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In many question banks his name appears as Harivansh Singh. He succeeded P. J. Kurien. Venkaiah Naidu, named in one of the options, was the Chairman, not the Deputy Chairman. Nitish Kumar and Hari Prasad were not elected to this specific parliamentary office at that time.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that M. Venkaiah Naidu became Vice President of India in 2017 and therefore serves as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, not Deputy Chairman.Step 2: Remember that in August 2018, Rajya Sabha members held an election to fill the post of Deputy Chairman.Step 3: Identify Harivansh, often written as Harivansh Singh in question banks, as the member who won that election.Step 4: Note that Nitish Kumar was then serving as Chief Minister of Bihar and not as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.Step 5: Compare the options and choose Harivansh Singh as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
News reports from August 2018 widely covered the election, noting that Harivansh won against the opposition candidate B. K. Hariprasad. The presence of the name Hari Prasad in the options is likely a reference to this opposition candidate, but he did not win the election. Reference books on current affairs for that year also list Harivansh as the newly elected Deputy Chairman. These multiple sources confirm that the correct answer is Harivansh Singh, not any of the other names listed.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• M. Venkaiah Naidu: He was the Vice President and therefore the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, not the Deputy Chairman.
• Nitish Kumar: He is a senior political leader and Chief Minister of Bihar, but he was not elected as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• Hari Prasad: This name closely resembles that of B. K. Hariprasad, who contested the Deputy Chairman election in 2018 but lost to Harivansh.

Common Pitfalls:
Because both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are presiding officers of the Rajya Sabha and their names appear together in news reports, aspirants often mix them up. Another confusion arises from similar sounding names, such as Harivansh and Hariprasad. A simple memory aid is to remember that Venkaiah Naidu was the Chairman as Vice President, while Harivansh from Janata Dal United was the Deputy Chairman elected in 2018. Keeping these roles and names clearly separated helps avoid error in such questions.

Final Answer:
The leader elected as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in August 2018 was Harivansh Singh.