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NEW DELHI: Accompanied by senior leaders Sharad Pawar, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge, joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva filed her nomination papers for the Vice-Presidential election on Tuesday.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj Jha and Samajwadi Party’s Ramgopal Verma, MDMK’s Vaiko, CPI’s D Raja were among the Opposition leaders present during her nomination process at Parliament House.
After the nomination, Alva, who called the vice presidential election a “tough one” last evening, said that “winning and losing is a part of life”.
“I accept this nomination with great humility and thank the leaders of the opposition for the faith they’ve reposed in me,” Alva, who was first elected to the Parliament in 1974 and served four consecutive six-year terms in the Rajya Sabha followed by one in the Lok Sabha said.
The former Rajasthan Governor said that this nomination is an acknowledgement of the more than 50 years of her public service in the Parliament, Central government, as 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”.
“Over these fifty years, I’ve worked for my country with integrity, courage and commitment, my only obligation: to serve without fear, the Constitution of India,” she said.
“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 at the border, the entrepreneur and so many more,” the former Union minister said.
She further said, “Elections don’t frighten me – winning and losing is a part of life. However, it is my belief that the goodwill, trust, and affection of members across party lines in both houses of Parliament, that I’ve earned, 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.”
During her 30 years in the Parliament, she served on several important committees, as presiding officer in both Houses and chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women for five years and was part of the Indian delegation to many international conferences.
Alva was also Union Minister for 10 years handling important portfolios in the Governments of Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao. She served as Advisor to the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training between 2004 and 2009.
She also represented Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the International celebrations in Rome to mark 2000 years of Christianity, as well as the canonization of Mother Teresa at the Vatican.
Alva has held posts in Congress at several organisational levels. She has been a member of the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, and the Central Election Committee.
She is pitted against BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankar who filed his nomination on Monday.
