In another line-up for election to a high post, the 17-party opposition alliance has picked veteran Congress woman and former Union minister Margaret Alva to face outgoing West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar, the BJP-NDA nominee. Both names emerged out of the blue while media and political pundits groped in the dark and got no advance hint. On the positive side, both these leaders have a wealth of experience. Rather, Alva’s experience in politics might outweigh that of Dhankar, she having functioned for several years as a Union minister and topped it with gubernatorial posts in quite a few states. She had worked closely with three prime ministers, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao. Now, the 80-year-old Alva also seeks to carry forward a legacy of her own as well as of her mother-in-law Violet Alva — both having functioned as vice-chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The vice president functions as chairperson of the upper house. Jagdeep Dhankar, 71, a former MP and MLA, has been in the news during his term as governor of West Bengal, where he had often sought to put chief minister Mamata Banerjee on the line of fire. Yet, at another level, the personal warmth between them was also no secret.
Political calculations are high in these selections too. Dhankar represents the powerful and numerically strong Jat segment of the population spread over five geographically contiguous states including his own state of Rajasthan. Jats form the bulwark of the farming community in these regions, also including Punjab, Haryana, UP and MP. Well-built, they are a strong presence in the military services too. The BJP might be having its eye fixed on the assembly elections in Rajasthan and MP in the near future. All eyes, however, are on who would now keep a watch on Banerjee in Bengal.
Alva, a Roman Catholic, has an added personal appeal among minority Christians mainly in her home state of Karnataka. Elections are due in the southern state less than a year hence, but this by itself might not be the main prompting for the Congress or the Opposition in the present context. Christians form only less than two per cent of the population there. Yet, the Opposition alliance appears to have weighed in factors like her being from a minority community and a woman at that. Now, the BJP-NDA alone cannot appropriate the credit of having fielded a woman in the form of Droupadi Murmu — in the present round of President and VP polls. Notably, the BJP is not fielding any minority member for the Vice President’s posts, despite speculations to the contrary.
