Margret Alva to be Oppn’s candidate for Vice President

New Delhi, July 17 (UNI) Former union minister and former governor Margret Alva will be the 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 Ba- sheer; 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.