New Delhi: Former union minister and former governor Margret Alva will be Opposition’s candidate for Vice Presidential polls.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Opposition parties at NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s residence here. 17 Opposition parties have backed Alva, said Pawar.
Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, DMK’s TR Baalu; Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, CPI leader D Raja, Binoy Viswam, MDMK leader Vaiko, TRS MP Keshav Rao, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav; CPI (M)’s Sitaram Yechury; IUML member ET Mohammed Basheer; and RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh were among those who attended the meeting.
Alva has served as the Governor of Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. A former Rajya Sabha member, she also served as the Vice Chairman of Rajya Sabha from 1983-85.
She took over in Rajasthan from the Punjab governor, Shivraj Patil, who had been holding an additional charge of that state. Before being appointed governor, she was a senior figure in the Indian National Congress and was Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.
BJP has announced Jagdeep Dhankar as the NDA candidate for the vice-Presidential poll.
