On Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party leader Abhishek Banerjee stated that the party led by Mamata Banerjee would boycott the Vice Presidential elections. Banerjee stated that there is no question of supporting the NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar and added that the Opposition’s nominee Margaret Alva was decided without keeping the TMC in the loop.
TMC will not support NDA’s Vice-Presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar. The party will abstain from the upcoming Vice Presidential polls as it was decided in the meeting: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee
— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2022
(File pic) pic.twitter.com/gf12NiuhME
According to the reports, the decision was taken after Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with TMC MPs. The NDA has chosen former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as their vice presidential candidate, while the opposition parties have chosen former Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva.
Jagdeep Dhankhar hails from the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. Lawyer by profession, he is in active politics since 1989. He has served as a member of Lok Sabha from the Jhunjhunu constituency and has also worked as a minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs between 1990-1991.
Dhankhar has also worked as a member of the legislative assembly of Rajasthan from the Kishangarh constituency between 1993 to 1998. Since 30th July 2019, he has been working as the Governor of West Bengal.
The TMC has protested the announcement of the united Opposition candidate without informing Mamata Banerjee. The vice presidential election will be placed on August 6 to select M Venkaiah Naidu’s successor, whose tenure expires on August 10.