New Delhi: Joint opposition candidate for the vice presidential election Margaret Alva Tuesday filed her nomination papers for the post and was accompanied by a host of leaders from various parties.
Soon after she filed her nomination papers, Alva said elections do not frighten her and winning and losing is a part of life but the trust of members of both houses of Parliament will help her bring people together, find common solutions and help build a strong and united India.
The vice presidential poll will be held August 6 to elect the successor to M Venkaiah Naidu, whose term ends August 10.
Alva, 80, is pitted against NDA’s Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned as West Bengal governor after being nominated Saturday evening.
Several opposition leaders, including Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, were present during her nomination filing.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja and MDMK’s Vaiko were also present during the nomination filing.
No leader from the Trinamool Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party was present during the nomination filing of the joint opposition candidate. Both the parties were not represented at the opposition meeting that decided on fielding Alva as their consensus candidate, but Pawar had said that he is in touch with both TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Tuesday is the last date for submission of nominations for the vice presidential election.
“I have spent my life fulfilling my commitments, with integrity and courage. Elections don’t frighten me – winning and losing are a part of life.
“However, it is my belief that the goodwill, trust, and affection of members across party lines in both houses of Parliament, that I’ve earned, will see me through, and continue to guide me as one who works to bring people together, to find common solutions and helps build a strong and united India,” the Congress veteran said in a statement.
Alva said the coming together of the opposition to support my candidature for the post of Vice President of India, “is a metaphor of the reality that is India”.
“We come from various corners of this great country, speak different languages, and follow different religions and customs. Our unity, in our diversity, is our strength. We fight for what is important to us: to uphold the pillars of democracy, to strengthen our institutions, and for an India that is ‘Saare Jahan Se Accha’, that belongs to each and every one of us. An India where there is respect for all,” she said.
She said it is a privilege and honour to be nominated as the candidate of the joint opposition for the post of Vice President of the Republic of India.
The former minister and ex-Governor said over the last 50 years, she has worked for the country with integrity, courage and commitment and “my only obligation: to serve without fear, the Constitution of India”.
She said she accepts this nomination with great humility and thanked the leaders of the opposition for the faith they have reposed in her.
“I believe this nomination is an acknowledgement, by the united opposition, of the over 50 years I’ve spent in public life, as a member of both houses of Parliament, a union minister, a Governor, a proud representative of India at the United Nations and on other global platforms, and as a fearless champion of women’s rights and the rights of underprivileged and marginalised groups and communities across the length and breadth of our great nation,” she said.
Born in 1942 in Mangalore, to Pascal and Elizabeth Nazareth, Alva was educated in Mangalore, Coimbatore and Bangalore securing her BA degree from Mount Carmel College and her Law Degree from the Government Law College. She was later conferred an honorary degree of D.Lit by the University of Mysore.
Married in 1964 to Niranjan Alva, the eldest son of the famed freedom fighters Joachim and Violet Alva, the first couple in Indian Parliament, whom she met in the student movement, they have four children and nine grandchildren.
Alva was first elected to Parliament in 1974 and served four consecutive six-year terms in the Rajya Sabha followed by one in the Lok Sabha. During her 30 years in Parliament, she served on several important and prestigious committees, served as presiding officer in both Houses and chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women for five years and was part of the Indian delegation to many international conferences.
Former Rajasthan governor and Congress veteran Alva were unanimously chosen as the joint opposition candidate for the post of the vice president Sunday in the presence of leaders from 17 opposition parties.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, comprise the electoral college for the vice president’s election.
PTI
