Vice president election: In her first reaction after being named Opposition's vice presidential candidate, Margaret Alva took to Twitter and said she is "privileged and honoured".
In a tweet on Sunday, Alva said: "It is a privilege and an honour to be nominated as the candidate of the joint opposition for the post of Vice President of India. I accept this nomination with great humility and thank the leaders of the opposition for the faith they’ve put in me. Jai Hind."
The Opposition parties on Sunday announced Margaret Alva as their Vice President candidate. Alva is the former governor of Rajasthan. The 80-year-old would file her nomination papers on July 19.
The decision to field Alva was taken at a meeting that was attended by leaders of 17 opposition parties at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. The meeting stretched for two hours, after which Pawar made the announcement. Trinamool Congress and the Aam Admi Party also supported this decision. Thus, Alva will represent a total of 19 parties.
Alva's Political Career
Alva has a political career spanning over four decades during which she occupied several positions including a five-time Congress MP, a union minister and then governor. Her selection as the VP candidate comes ahead of the 2023 Karnataka elections and signals the Opposition's urge to field a candidate described by AICC general secretary communication Jairam Ramesh as "representative of a diverse country".
Alva had publicly alleged the "sale of Congress tickets in Karnataka" in 2008 when her son Nivedith's ticket claim was shot down by the then party in charge of the state. Alva had then openly questioned the denial of ticket to her son while wards of leaders in some other states had been accommodated. She was dropped at the time as AICC general secretary and also from the party's election committee but made a comeback later and retired as governor of Rajasthan in 2014.
She was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1974 at the age of 32 years and remained in the upper house for four terms until 1998. She won her first Lok Sabha election from Karnataka and served as a member of the 13th Lok Sabha. Alva was made Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs by then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984 when she was just 42.
Also Read: Oppn parties select ex-Rajasthan Guv Margaret Alva as Vice President candidate
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