VP polls: TMC's decision to abstain from voting disappointing, says Alva; not against her: Trinamool

Trinamool Congress said it has taken a 'principled strand' of abstaining to protest against the way her name was 'unilaterally' decided by other opposition parties.
Margaret Alva. (Photo | PTI)
Margaret Alva. (Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Opposition's vice-presidential candidate Margaret Alva on Friday described the Trinamool Congress' decision to abstain from voting in the VP election as "disappointing" and said this was not the time for "whataboutery, ego or anger".

Alva's reaction came a day after the TMC announced it would abstain from the upcoming vice-presidential election, as it does not agree with the way the Opposition candidate was decided without keeping the party in the loop.

In response, the Mamata Banerjee-led party said it has nothing against Alva as a candidate and will never support NDA nominee Jagdeep Dhankhar, but has taken a 'principled strand' of abstaining to protest against the way her name was 'unilaterally' decided by other opposition parties.

"The TMC's decision to abstain from voting in the VP election is disappointing. This isn't the time for 'whataboutery', ego or anger. This is the time for courage, leadership & unity. I believe, @MamataOfficial, who is the epitome of courage, will stand with the opposition," Alva said in a Twitter post.

The leaders of 17 Opposition parties, at a meeting, decided to field Alva, a former governor of Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, as their candidate for the vice-presidential poll.

The leaders of the TMC and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were not present at the meeting that took place at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar last Sunday.

The TMC on Thursday announced it would abstain from the upcoming vice presidential election.

Reacting to Alva's tweet, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Friday said, "Our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee clearly said yesterday that we are against the way Margaret Alva's name was decided unilaterally as the vice presidential candidate in that meeting. There is no other issue involved. We are abstaining to register our protest against the way her name was decided. We hope our principled stand will help cement opposition unity in coming days and prevent such practices in future."

On the CPI(M)'s allegation that the TMC's move is part of the understanding between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh claimed that none can forget Dhankhar's role as West Bengal governor in the past three years as he had created problems in the functioning of the state.

"He worked in the interest of a particular political party. We can never support such a personality in the election. The TMC will never do anything to boost the chance of Dhankhar," he said.

Going by the numbers the BJP has in both Houses of Parliament in several state assemblies, the TMC's abstaining from voting will not influence the result of the vice presidential polls and this calculation also weighed in the party's decision, Ghosh said.

Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday alleged that the Opposition candidate was decided without proper consultation and deliberation with his party, which has 35 MPs in both houses of Parliament.

However, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the stand of TMC was not surprising.

"It is part of the understanding between Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee. Remember the meeting among Mamata Banerjee, Dhankhar and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Darjeeling a few days back."

The MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including the nominated members, comprise the electoral college in the vice-presidential election.

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