The opposition has announced the name of the candidate for the Vice Presidential election. After a meeting of opposition parties in Delhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar announced that former Union minister Margaret Alva would be the vice-president’s candidate. He will face Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has been declared as its candidate by the NDA. Margaret Alva is a five-time MP and has also been a cabinet minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government.
Announcing the candidature of 80-year-old Alva, Pawar said his name has been unanimously decided by 17 opposition parties. She will file her nomination on Tuesday (July 19). August 6 is also the last date for filing nominations for the elections.
Alva was born on 14 April 1942 in Mangalore, Karnataka. After completing his graduation in Physics, he did his LLB from Rajasthan University. Margaret Alva is a former Union Minister and senior Congress leader. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha for four consecutive terms and to the Lok Sabha for one term.
Margaret Alva was also given the portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs and Youth Affairs in the Union Cabinet. She has held many responsibilities in the governments of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao. Alva has been the governor of Rajasthan, Goa, Gujarat and Uttarakhand.
Alva was in the news in 2008 when she accused the top Congress leadership of selling tickets during the Karnataka Assembly elections. After this he was removed from the post of General Secretary by the party. However, due to his closeness to the Gandhi family, he was later sent as the governor of Uttarakhand. He had strongly criticized the BJP government in Karnataka for the anti-conversion bill last year.
Voting is on August 6: In the Vice Presidential election to be held on August 6, Margaret Alva is up against NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is the Governor of West Bengal. A day earlier on Saturday, BJP President JP Nadda had announced Dhankhar’s candidature.