5 facts to know about Opposition's Vice President candidate, Margaret Alva

New Delhi, July 18: The Opposition has fielded former Union minister Margaret Alva against BJP's Jagdeep Dhankhar in the vice-presidential elections. The announcement was made by Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar after an Opposition meeting. "Opposition's candidate for the post of Vice President of India is to be Margaret Alva," said NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

 

 

Earlier, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar will be its candidate for the Vice Presidential election. The opposition leaders finalised her name after a meeting held at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar which was attended by all major opposition parties including the Congress, TMC, CPIM, RJD, SP, and others.

 

 

 

1. Margaret Alva was born in Mangalore in 1942, grew up in different parts of the former Madras Presidency, and imbibed the culture of the state, parts of which now belong to Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

 

2. Margaret Alva practiced law before her foray into active politics.

 

3. Margaret Alva, 80, was elected to Rajya in 1974 as a representative of Congress.

 

 

4. Being a five-term Member of Parliament, Margaret Alva held the Parliamentary Affairs and Youth Affairs portfolios in the Central cabinet.

 

5. Margaret Alva has served as the 17th Governor of Goa, the 23rd Governor of Gujarat, the 20th Governor of Rajasthan, and the fourth Governor of Uttarakhand.

 

Nominations for the vice-presidential polls began on Tuesday. The poll for the upcoming vice president's election is slated to take place between 10 AM and 5 PM on August 6, 2022, and the results are expected to be out on the same day.  The nomination papers for the above election can be submitted starting Saturday up to July 19, 2022. The scrutiny for the nominations will take place on July 20 and the final list will be published on July 22.

 

Also Read: BJP's big move! NDA nominates Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar for Vice Presidentship

As in the case of the election to the President of India, the eligible candidates will need to submit a few documents including a certified copy of the electoral roll with the name mentioned on it and an amount of Rs 15,000 at the time of submitting the nomination papers which shall be returned after the election process is over in case the candidate does not make it to the final list.

In case of the election of the Vice President of India, voting will happen in the Parliament and members of the Rajya Sabha will participate in this election as the vice president is also the de facto chairman of the upper house.