New Delhi: Margaret Alva was unanimously chosen by 17 opposition parties to be the candidate for the vice presidential election. The former Rajasthan governor is contesting against NDA candidate and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar.
The decision was announced by NCP chief Sharad Pawar after an all-party meeting. He said all 17 parties are on board for this unanimous decision. "Our collective thinking is that Alva will file the VP nomination on Tuesday."
Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja and Binoy Viswam, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, DMK's T R Baalu and Tiruchi Siva, SP's Ram Gopal Yadav, MDMK's Vaiko, TRS' K Keshava Rao, RJD's A D Singh, IMUL's E T Mohammed Basheer, and Congress (M)'s Jose K. Mani were present at the meeting.
Pawar said they are trying to contact Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal. "Last time they supported our joint presidential candidate."
The 80-year-old candidate tweeted that she accept the nomination with "great humility" and thanked the leaders of the Opposition for their faith. She wrote that it is a privilege and an honour to be nominated.
The vice presidential election will take place on August 6 and nominations are open till July 19.
She has served as the 17th Governor of Goa, 23rd Governor of Gujarat, 20th Governor of Rajasthan, and 4th Governor of Uttarakhand. Her mother-in-law Violet Alva was the second Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha in the 1960s.
Born in a Roman Catholic family in Mangalore, she worked as a lawyer and in welfare organisations before becoming president of the Young Women's Christian Association. She entered politics inspired by her husband's family.
In 1974, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a representative of Congress. After serving a six-year term, she was re-elected three more times consecutively. She also served as the Union Minister of State in the ministries for Parliamentary Affairs, Youth and Sports, and Women and Child Development, an arm of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.