Margaret Alva, the Opposition’s Vice Presidential candidate, has been reaching out to the chief ministers of various states as part of her campaign to garner support.
One among them was Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma – which, however, prompted a Twitter exchange between the two on Sunday.
Earlier today, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “Smt. @alva_margaret took charge of her campaign office at 1,Pt Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane today. She spoke to CM Assam, CM Karnataka, & CM Delhi as part of her Vice Presidential campaign. The conversations were very cordial & friendly given her long political career & associations.”
Smt. @alva_margaret took charge of her campaign office at 1,Pt Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane today. She spoke to CM Assam, CM Karnataka, & CM Delhi as part of her Vice Presidential campaign. The conversations were very cordial & friendly given her long political career & associations.— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 24, 2022
Assam CM Sarma, however, replied to Ramesh’s tweet stating he had spoken to her saying that he had no role in the election of the VP. “Smt. @alva_margaret spoke to me this morning. I politely told her that I’m not a member of the electoral college. As such I have no role in the election of Vice President of India.”
Smt. @alva_margaret spoke to me this morning. I politely told her that I’m not a member of the electoral college. As such I have no role in the election of Vice President of India. https://t.co/u8WX6vbpKY— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 24, 2022
To this, Alva shot back a tweet. “As part of my campaign for VP, I’m reaching out to leaders from across political parties. Mr Sarma is an old friend & we’ve worked together long enough for him to know that after 30 yrs. in Parliament, I know what constitutes the electoral college. We had a nice chat though!”
As part of my campaign for VP, I’m reaching out to leaders from across political parties. Mr Sarma is an old friend & we’ve worked together long enough for him to know that after 30 yrs. in Parliament, I know what constitutes the electoral college. We had a nice chat though! https://t.co/LZ8ogBWEpT— Margaret Alva (@alva_margaret) July 24, 2022
She further told ANI, “The basis for seeking votes from everyone is that I am a woman and for the first time in front of the country, there is a woman Vice Presidential candidate, so everyone should support me.”
A former governor and Congress veteran, Alva has also sought the support of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. On Saturday, she met Kejriwal to seek his support for her candidature, and the meeting concluded “with both leaders expressing mutual respect and acknowledgement”, a statement by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said.
Despite the numbers not stacking up in her favour, Alva, in an interview with PTI, said she is hardly perturbed and feels the numbers can always swing. “We can’t just sit back and say we don’t have the numbers, so we won’t fight an election,” she added.
The Vice Presidential elections are slated to be held on August 6.
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