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Updated August 6th, 2022 at 20:40 IST

Margaret Alva accepts defeat, slams parties that 'directly-indirectly supported BJP'

After having faced a defeat in the Vice Presidential elections at the hands of NDA's Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Opposition candidate Margaret Alva reacted.

Reported by: Sudeshna Singh
Margaret Alva
Image: ANI | Image:self
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After having faced a defeat in the Vice Presidential elections at the hands of NDA's Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Opposition candidate Margaret Alva reacted on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, the former Union Minister and ex-Governor of Rajasthan, Goa and Gujarat, congratulated the former West Bengal Governor on being elected as the 14th Vice President of India. 

The 80-year-old took the platform to thank all the leaders of the Opposition, and Members of Parliament from across parties who voted for her in this election. She also expressed her gratitude to all the volunteers for their selfless service during what she referred as a 'short but intense campaign'.

"This election was an opportunity for the opposition to work together, to leave the past behind & build trust amongst each other. Unfortunately, some opposition parties chose to directly or indirectly support the BJP, in an attempt to derail the idea of a united opposition," said Alva in the tweet, purportedly attacking Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress. 

'The battle for protecting our Constitution will continue'

Alva, who was expecting the support of all Opposition parties, which had supported Yashwant Sinha against Droupadi Murmi in the Presidential elections, suffered a rupture when TMC announced that it would abstain from voting. On the other hand,  besides the NDA alliance partners, Andhra Pradesh’s ruling YSRCP, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party BSP, and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal pledged to back Dhankhar. 

"It is my belief that by doing so, these parties and their leaders have damaged their own credibility," the Opposition's candidate for the Vice Presidential elections said. Dhankhar won with a thumping majority by securing 528 votes against Alva's 182 votes. 725 parliamentarians cast their votes, which round up to 92.9 per cent voting in the vice-presidential election. 

The 80-year-old further wrote, "This election is over. The battle for protecting our Constitution, strengthening our democracy & restoring the dignity of Parliament, will continue."

 

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Published August 6th, 2022 at 20:40 IST

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