Alva congratulates VP Dhankar, blasts opposition for ‘supporting BJP’

Margaret Alva, the opposition candidate who lost the vice president election against Jagdeep Dhankar, congratulated the NDA choice on Saturday. 

Dhankar bagged 528 votes and Alva got 182. As many as 725 MPs voted in the election, polling for which started at 10 AM and ended at 5 PM.

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Alva congratulated Dhankar and thanked all the leaders who supported her during the vice-president run. 

“Congratulations to Mr Dhankhar on being elected Vice President! I would like to thank all the leaders of the Opposition, and MPs from across parties who voted for me in this election. Also, all the volunteers for their selfless service during our short but intense campaign,” Alva tweeted. 

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The opposition candidate further slammed the parties who supported the BJP ‘in an attempt to derail the idea of a united opposition’. 

Alva said she believes that by supporting the BJP in this election, such parties and leaders have damaged their own credibility.

“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,” she added. 

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“It is my belief that by doing so, these parties and their leaders have damaged their own credibility. This election is over. The battle for protecting our Constitution, strengthening our democracy & restoring the dignity of Parliament, will continue. Jai Hind.”

The Trinamool Congress with 36 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, abstained from this election. Some other parties like the BSP and SAD extended their support to NDA’s Dhankhar.

Wishes poured in from various quarters after the election result was announced with President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Alva congratulating Dhankhar.