Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva, who filed her nomination on Tuesday for the post of Vice-President, said she wasn’t worried about the numerical deficiency of the Opposition because the purpose of protecting the idea of India and strengthening institutions motivated her to contest.
As the ruling BJP is comfortably placed with the majority in the combined strength of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Alva said: “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 that I’ve earned across party lines in both the Houses of Parliament 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.”
Alva, a former Union minister who has been a member of both the Houses of Parliament apart from being governor of many states, definitely has much greater experience than her rival Jagdeep Dhankar, who is the governor of Bengal, but that’s not a factor in the contest. Though Trinamul Congress wasn’t present while Alva filed nomination papers, her victory looks impossible even if the entire Opposition comes together.
Those present on Tuesday when she filed the nomination included Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, CPI’s D. Raja, RJD’s Manoj Jha, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, MDMK’s Vaiko and RSP’s N.K. Premachandran.
Alva said after filing her nomination: “It is a privilege and honour to be nominated as the candidate of the Opposition for the post of Vice-President. 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 added: “Over these fifty years, I’ve worked for my country with integrity, courage and commitment. My only obligation was to serve the Constitution of India without fear. The coming together of the Opposition to support my candidature for the post of Vice-President of India is a metaphor for the reality that is India. We come from various corners of this great country, speak different languages, and follow different religions and customs.”
Alva, a Christian by faith and, like Dhankhar, a lawyer, said: “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 — for the farmer in the field, the Asha nurse in the village, the small town kirana store owner, the student in college, the office worker, the unemployed youth, the housewife, the worker in the factory, the journalist, the government officer, the jawan on the border, the entrepreneur and so many more.”
