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‘Elections do not frighten me’: Opposition’s VP candidate Margaret Alva
Alva’s nomination is seen as an outreach to south Indian voters, and a senior leader maintained that fielding a woman candidate also shows the Opposition’s commitment against gender bias
Opposition’s vice presidential candidate Margaret Alva on Tuesday, while filing her nomination papers for the upcoming elections, said that she will fight for the pillars of democracy.
“The coming together of the opposition to support my candidature...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,” the senior Congress leader said.
Stating that elections do not frighten her, the veteran politician said, “Over these 50 years, I’ve worked for my country with integrity, courage and commitment, my only obligation: to serve without fear, the Constitution of India… Elections don’t frighten me...winning and losing is a part of life.”
Taking to Twitter in support of her nomination, Kharge said, “We will continue to fight for the soul of our Nation and the Constitution undaunted.”
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The former Union minister was accompanied by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
The opposition’s 80-year-old veteran candidate is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA’s Jagdeep Dhankhar. Alva has been a parliamentarian for five terms and served as the governor of Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
Alva’s nomination is seen as an outreach to south Indian voters, and a senior leader maintained that fielding a woman candidate also shows the Opposition’s commitment against gender bias.
The vice presidential elections will be held on August 6, and the winner will succeed Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu after his terms ends on August 10.
