‘It is not the time for ego, anger or whataboutery’: VP candidate Margaret Alva slams TMC, Mamata Banerjee

After the Trinamool Congress refused to support Margaret Alva in the upcoming Vice Presidential elections 2022, the opposition VP candidate hit out at party supremo Mamata Banerjee, saying that this is not the time for “ego, anger or whataboutery.”

On Friday, Alva described the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) decision to abstain from voting in the August 6 election as "disappointing", just a day after the regional party announced that they will not be supporting any candidate in the vice presidential elections in 2022.

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC announced that it will abstain from the vice-presidential election as it did not agree with the manner in which the Opposition candidate was decided, without keeping it in the loop.

Taking to Twitter, Margaret Alva wrote, "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, and unity. I believe, Mamata Banerjee, who is the epitome of courage, will stand with the opposition.”

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.

Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA alliance decided to field former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its candidate in the vice-presidential poll. The TMC further made clear that they will not be supporting Alva or Dhankar in the VP elections for this year.

The results for the Presidential Elections 2022 were announced on Thursday, July 21, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu declaring victory over Yashwant Sinha, who was the joint candidate for the opposition parties.

Despite backing Sinha, many opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati, Sharad Pawar, and Mamata Banerjee welcomed the results of the presidential polls, congratulating Murmu on her victory.

(With PTI inputs)

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