On Margaret Alva, Kharge says she's better than NDA nominee and also from…

Margaret Alva: The senior Congress leader and former Union minister was named the Opposition's joint candidate for the August 6 Vice Presidential election earlier.

Published on: Jul 17, 2022, 22:51:14 IST

By HT News Desk

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Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday hit out at BJP functionaries who said the Opposition could have extended its support to the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate for Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar instead of nominating Margaret Alva.

File photo of Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Kharge said Alva, whose name was announced as the joint opposition nominee for the country's second-most important post earlier in the day, was a better candidate than Dhankhar.

Also read | ‘With great humility…’: Margaret Alva, Opposition's vice-president pick

"Our candidate is from the minority and is better than their candidate. If they will support our candidate (Margaret Alva), then it will be a unanimous poll," the leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was quoted as saying by news agency told ANI.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Margaret Alva was named the Opposition's joint candidate for the August 6 Vice Presidential election earlier in the day.

Also read | Who is Margaret Alva

The announcement was made by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar after a meeting of Opposition leaders at his residence. The meeting was attended by all major opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC, CPIM, RJD, SP and Shiv Sena.

Alva had earlier served as the governor of Rajasthan. Born in Mangalore in 1942, She was made central minister at the age of 42, which in those days was a rarity. Her father belonged to the Indian Civil Service. She was married into the Alva family, from Mangalore. She was elected for four successive terms to the Rajya Sabha, and one term in the Lok Sabha. Alva assumed several responsibilities, under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao.

Also read | Sanjay Raut affirms Sena's support to Alva as VP, then explains stand on Murmu

The announcement came a day after the BJP said West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, a known bête noire of Trinamool Congress supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, will be the NDA face for the Vice President.

Born in a family of farmers, Dhankhar completed his school education from Sainik School, Chittorgarh. After finishing his graduation in Physics, he pursued law and despite being a first-generation professional, he became one of the leading lawyers in Rajasthan.

Having practised in the Rajasthan High Court and Supreme Court, Dhankhar entered public life after getting elected as an MP from Jhunjhunu in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. He served as a junior minister in 1990. In 1993, he was elected to the Rajasthan Assembly from the Kishangarh constituency in Ajmer district.

In July 2019, he was appointed as the governor of West Bengal and since then, has had several run-ins with the TMC government. Nominations for the vice-presidential polls slated to be held on August 6, began on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, election for the post of president will take place on Monday. Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition parties for the top office, Draupadi Murmu is NDA's presidential candidate.

(With agency inputs)

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HT News Desk
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