Jagdeep Dhankhar vs Margaret Alva: Who will Mamata Banerjee's TMC support for Vice Presidential polls? Read what party MP said

New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee-led TMC will announce its support for a vice presidential candidate by July 21, veteran party MP Saugata Roy said on Sunday (July 17). Roy’s statement came after the Opposition parties declared Margaret Alva as their joint nominee for the August 6 Vice Presidential election 2022. Saugata Roy said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will chair a meeting which would be attended by TMC parliamentarians on July 21 and then the party will clear its stance on their support for the vice presidential candidate, as per PTI. 

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the party's top brass is “assessing and discussing the entire vice-presidential poll issue”. “We are a disciplined party. We will not say anything on the issue beforehand," he said.

Earlier today, senior TMC leader and Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya took a dig at NDA vice presidential nominee Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, saying he has been rewarded by the BJP for “antagonising” CM Mamata Banerjee. Bhattacharya, the MoS for Health and Finance, also accused Dhankhar of acting as a BJP spokesperson during his state governor tenure. Dhankhar became the governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and has made headlines since then over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government.  

Both BJP and the Opposition have urged TMC to extend support to their respective candidates. While Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar has appealed to the TMC to support the NDA vice-presidential candidate, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that the Opposition parties have reached out to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal seeking support for Margaret Alva. 

Meanwhile, as per ANI sources, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will support NDA's Vice-President candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar. The decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and sought support for Dhankhar. Besides BJD, AIADMK leader M Thambi Durai has said they will also extend support for the Bengal governor. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party has also announced support for NDA's nominee Dhankhar in the vice presidential poll, PTI reported. 

On BJP chief JP Nadda's appeal to all political parties including UPA allies to support Dhankhar in Vice Presidential polls 2022, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Our candidate is from the minority and is better than their candidate. If they will support our candidate (Margaret Alva) then it'll be a unanimous poll." 

(With agency inputs)