Big hole in Opposition? No Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal at Margret Alva's Vice Presidential announcement

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee were not a part of the big decision.

Opposition parties have decided to field veteran Congress leader Margret Alva as their candidate for upcoming vice presidential polls. Alva was announced as Opposition candidate by NCP chief Sharad Pawar after a meeting of 17 Opposition parties. However, it was clear that two major parties - Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party - were not taken into confidence before the announcement.

By what Pawar said, it was clear that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee were not a part of the big decision.

"We are trying to contact Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal. Last time they supported our joint presidential candidate," Sharad Pawar said at the time of Alva's announcement, adding that even JMM is together with opposition parties in this election.

The decision to field Alva was taken at a meeting of opposition leaders of 17 parties at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

"We have unanimously decided to field Margaret Alva as our joint candidate for the post of Vice President," Pawar announced after the two-hour meeting.
"Our collective thinking is Alva will file VP nomination on Tuesday," Pawar said.

He said a total of 17 parties have unanimously taken the decision to field her and with the support of Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, she will be the joint candidate of a total of 19 parties.

Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said, "We are all together in this election".

Among the attendees were Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja and Binoy Viswam, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, DMK's T R Baalu and Tiruchi Siva, SP's Ram Gopal Yadav, MDMK's Vaiko and TRS' K Keshava Rao. The RJD's A D Singh, IMUL's E T Mohammed Basheer and Kerala Congress (M)'s Jose K. Mani were also present.

The numbers in the electoral college are firmly stacked in favour of the ruling NDA combine.

Unlike the presidential election when the opposition camp had announced their nominee Yashwant Sinha ahead of NDA's Droupadi Murmu, leading to several non-BJP parties including even Congress allies Shiv Sena and the JMM veering towards Murmu, this time the like-minded parties wanted to wait for the announcement of the NDA candidate.

The last date for filing of nominations for the VP election is July 19.