Could Margaret Alva Be India's First Woman Vice President?

Former governor and Parliament member Margaret Alva is the joint opposition candidate for the vice presidential election. Accompanied by the opposition leaders, Alva filed her nomination papers for the post of the Vice President of India.

The vice presidential elections are scheduled for August 6. Candidate Margaret Alva will compete against West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, the nominee of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

After filing the nomination papers for the post of vice president, Alva said, “We fight for what is important to us: to uphold the pillars of democracy, to strengthen our institutions.”

Speaking of her nomination, Alva said “I believe this nomination is an acknowledgement, but the united opposition, of the over 50 years I have 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.”

Alva added that over the years, she has been a “fearless champion of women’s rights”. She has also fought for underprivileged and marginalised groups and communities in India.

Alva was unanimously chosen as the joint opposition candidate for the post of vice president.

As the opposition’s candidate for the vice presidential election, Alva was accompanied by opposition leaders when she filed the nomination papers. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) Tiruchi Siva, Communist Party of India’s (CPM) Sitaram Yechury, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, and Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav were among the leaders that accompanied Alva.

Margaret Alva: Candidate For Vice President Of India

Margaret Alva was born in Karnataka and is a lawyer, social worker, trade unionist, and politician. She is a candidate for the upcoming vice presidential election that will place on August 6. The current Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's term will end on August 10.

Alva has served as a member of Parliament for 30 years and has served as Union Minister for multiple terms during the Congress administration. She has served as the Governor of Goa, Governor of Gujarat, Governor of Rajasthan, and Governor of Uttarakhand.

She served in the Parliament from 1974 to 2004 and during that time, she fought for legislative changes that improved women’s rights in India. During her time in Rajya Sabha, Alva’s proposal that 33 percent of seats in the panchayat raj elections should be reserved for women became law in 1993.

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