Margaret Alva

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Margaret Alva
Kanara
Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
In office
26 June 1991 – 26 May 1996
Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports
In office
26 May 1985 – 26 May 1989
Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi
Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs
In office
25 July 1984 – 25 July 1985
Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
In office
25 July 1993 – 25 July 1996
Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
25 July 1974–25 July 1998
ConstituencyKarnataka
Personal details
Born
Margaret Nazareth

(1942-04-14) 14 April 1942 (age 82)
Mangaluru, Karnataka, India)
Political partyIndian National Congress
Spouse
Niranjan Alva
​
​
(m. 1964; died 2018)​
[1]
RelationsViolet Alva (Mother-in-Law) Joachim Alva (Father-in-law)
Children3 son(s) and 1 daughter
ResidenceNew Delhi
Alma materMount Carmel College (B.A.), University Law College, Bangalore (LL.B.)
ProfessionLawyer

Margaret Nazareth Alva (born 14 April 1942) is an Indian politician. She served as the 17th

Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha
in 1960s.

On 17 July 2022, the United Progressive Alliance along with some other non-UPA opposition parties nominated her for the post of Vice President of India in the 2022 election.[2] But she was defeated by her opponent Jagdeep Dhankhar by a margin of 346 votes on 6 August 2022.

Early life

Margaret Nazareth Alva was born Margaret de Nazareth on 14 April 1942,

Government Law College in the same city.[4] She was a keen and appreciated debater during her time at college and had some involvement in students' movements.[5]

Alva combined her work as an advocate with involvement in welfare organisations, eventually becoming president of the

non-governmental organisation, which she founded and which was focused on issues relating to women and children.[4][6]

On 24 May 1964 she married Niranjan Thomas Alva, whom she had met while they were both students at Government Law College.[5] The couple had one daughter and three sons, the oldest being Niret Alva.[7] Niranjan Alva ran a successful export business, which gave his wife a financial security that proved beneficial in her later career.[4]

Politics

Beginnings

Alva's decision to enter politics in 1969 was influenced by her husband's parents,

Congress (Indira) faction led by Indira Gandhi and worked for its state unit in Karnataka.[4][5] She served as Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee between 1975 and 1977 and as General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee between 1978 and 1980.[3]

Rajya Sabha

In April 1974, Alva was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a representative of Congress. She served a six-year term and was then re-elected for three more six-year terms, in 1980, 1986, and 1992. During her time in the Rajya Sabha, she was its vice-chairman (1983–85) and also served terms as

Ministry of Human Resource Development. She also served on various House committees, which garnered her a considerable degree of procedural expertise,[4] and was briefly Minister for Science and Technology.[6]

In her HRD role, between 1985 and 1989,

panchayat raj (local government) elections should be reserved for women became law in 1993 and, according to Laura Jenkins, "marked a further shift from the former abhorrence of reservations as a nationally divisive policy". She continued her efforts to improve the lot of women during her period as Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs (1991 and 1993-96[8]), where she tried to increase the number of female officeholders in various ministries and government organisations, such as the Union Public Service Commission and the judiciary.[4][9]

Alva has also been involved with women's issues and related matters such as population growth on the international stage, notably through various United Nations bodies and in writings.[4][10]

Lok Sabha

Alva was elected to the

Uttara Kannada constituency, serving a five-year term.[8] She lost a subsequent re-election attempt in the 2004.[11] Between 2004 and 2009, she served as General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee and was an advisor to the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies & Training, a government body that works with newly elected parliamentary representatives at both national and state level.[6]

Governorships

In November 2008, Alva said that Congress seats for the elections in Karnataka were open to bidders rather than subject to meritocratic appointment. Congress denied her claims and a meeting with the party president, Sonia Gandhi resulted in Alva resigning or being removed from her numerous official responsibilities in the party.[12] Subsequently, Alva patched up her differences with Congress leadership. She has declined to go into details of the 2008 controversy even as her resignation letter continues to be a subject of media speculation.[13]

On 6 August 2009, Alva became the first female

Governor of Rajasthan, which was a more important region in political terms. Of her time in Uttarakhand, Alva said that "The quietude allowed me to recharge my batteries and even spare some time for working on my biography". The autobiography is not expected to appear until after her retirement.[14][15][16]

The move to Rajasthan relieved Shivraj Patil, the

Governor of Punjab, of his temporary adjunct responsibility for that state which had arisen due to the death of the incumbent governor, Prabha Rau, in April 2010;[17] on 7 August 2014 she was dismissed by the President of India on the advice of the Narendra Modi
ministry.

Electoral performance

This section is transcluded from 2022 Indian vice presidential election. (edit | history)
Results of the Indian vice-presidential election, 2022
Candidate
 Party (Coalition) Electoral Votes
 % of Votes
Jagdeep Dhankhar BJP (NDA) 528 74.37
Margaret Alva INC (UO) 182 25.63
Total 710 100
Valid Votes 710
Invalid Votes 15
Turnout 725 92.95%
Abstentions 55 7.05%
Electors 780

References

  1. ^ "Niranjan Thomas Alva passes away". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 7 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Ex-union minister Margaret Alva is Opposition's vice presidential candidate". The Indian Express. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Rajya Sabha Members Biographical Sketches 1952 – 2003" (PDF). Rajya Sabha website.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780850925692
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 9788171884711
    .
  6. ^ a b c "Hon'ble Governor of Rajasthan: Smt. Margaret Alva". Government of Rajasthan. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Miditech moves on". Business Standard. 29 September 2004.
  8. ^ a b c "Governor of Rajasthan". Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  9. ISBN 9780521786416
    .
  10. ISBN 9781135358204
    .
  11. ^ "Margaret Alva to be Uttarakhand governor". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Cong cuts Alva down to size". The Statesman. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  13. ^ "My book will reveal why I quit the AICC: Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva". India Today. Living Media India Limited. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  14. ^ "Alva sworn in Uttarakhand Governor". The Hindu. 7 August 2009. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Wanchoo for Goa, Alva for Rajasthan". The Telegraph. 29 April 2009. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  16. ^ Sharma, Neena (10 May 2012). "Eventful stint that lent charm to Governor's post". The Tribune. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  17. ^ "Margaret Alva sworn in as Rajasthan Governor". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
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