A consensus may be emerging on the candidature of Power Minister P M Sayeed for the post of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, with parleys on at various levels to sort out the issue as Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today favoured filling up of the vacant post at the earliest

Amid indications of high-level parleys between the government and the opposition, BJP sources said the party might reconcile to Sayeed's candidature if Samajwadi Party does not field its candidate against the Congress nominee.

Officially, however, party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj insisted on a consensus narrowing down on a non-BJP, non-Congress candidate.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said his party had no plan to field a candidate for the post.

Setting the ball rolling, Vice President Shekhawat, who is also the chairman of the Upper House, Monday favoured filling up the vacancy at the earliest.

Sayeed, who is among the front-runners of the job, along with party colleagues Vayalar Ravi, Janardhan Poojary and Mohsina Kidwai, was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections but was elected to the Rajya Sabha recently.

Having been the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha earlier, Sayeed is not only the "more acceptable" to the opposition among the four, but also fulfills the category of being from the south, with the three remaining presiding officers of the two Houses belonging to other parts of the country.

Sayeed is also more comfortable in Hindi, compared to his other South Indian colleagues, Ravi and Poojary.