Oppn vice presidential candidate Margaret Alva files nomination

The vice presidential poll will be held on August 6 to elect the successor to M Venkaiah Naidu, whose term ends on August 10

Opposition candidate Margaret Alva on Tuesday filed her nomination for the August 6 Vice Presidential election on the last day in the presence of a number of leaders from various parties.

The winner of the election will succeed M Venkaiah Naidu and with the electoral college heavily tilted in favour of NDA's Jagdeep Dhankar, Alva is likely to lose.

However, she said elections "do not frighten her" and winning and losing is a part of life. "However, it is my belief that the goodwill, trust, and affection of members across party lines in both houses of Parliament, that I’ve earned, will see me through, and continue to guide me as one who works to bring people together, to find common solutions and helps build a strong and united India," she said in a statement.

At the nomination, no Trinamool Congress or AAP leaders were present though there were in Parliament.

Several Opposition leaders, including Congress' Rahul Gandhi, NCP's Sharad Pawar, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja and MDMK's Vaiko were present during the nomination filing.

Alva said the coming together of the Opposition to support her candidature was a "metaphor of the reality that is India".

"We come from various corners of this great country, speak different languages, and follow different religions and customs. Our unity, in our diversity, is our strength. We fight for what is important to us: to uphold the pillars of democracy, to strengthen our institutions, and for an India that is ‘Saare Jahan se Accha’, that belongs to each and every one of us," she said.