Who is Margaret Alva, Opposition's vice presidential candidate?

New Delhi, July 17: Opposition parties on Sunday decided to field former Rajasthan governor Margaret Alva as their joint candidate for the vice presidential election.

Alva would file her nomination papers on Tuesday, July 19 which is the last date for filing nominations for the August 6 election. The NDA has fielded West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar as its joint candidate for the post of Vice President. The decision to field Alva was taken at a meeting of opposition leaders of 17 parties at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

Who is Margaret Alva?

Margaret Alva was born Margaret Nazareth on 14 April 1942 in a Roman Catholic family in Mangaluru, Karnataka. She obtained a BA degree from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore and a law degree from Government Law College in the same city. She was a keen and appreciated debater during her time at college and had some involvement in students' movements.

Margaret Alva - a lawyer, parliamentarian and former Union Minister -- is credited with steering several landmark legislations through the Indian parliament to improve the position of women in society and polity.

Beginning her political career as the only woman Block President in Karnataka after the split of 1969, she went on to head the Congress Party's women's wing in Karnataka in 1972. She soon moved on to become the General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. Two years later, Alva, 32, was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Thereafter, there was no turning back.

As a Member of Parliament - Rajya Sabha (1974 - 98) and Lok Sabha (1999 -2004) - Alva served on several parliamentary committees. She was appointed Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Rajiv Gandhi Government in 1984, later moving to the Ministry of Human Resource Development in charge of Youth Affairs and Sports, Women and Child Development.

In 1991 she was appointed Union Minister of State for Personnel, Pensions, Public Grievances and Administrative Reforms (attached to the Prime Minister). She also served as Minister for Science & Technology for a brief period.

Alva spearheaded some major legislative amendments passed by the Indian Parliament involving women's rights, the most important being reservation of quotas for women in local bodies. She steered legislation on Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) and amendments to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1956.

She also helped draft the National Perspective Plan for Women - a blueprint for policies for empowerment of women, which has been adopted as a guide by Union and state governments. Several reforms in the sports management and infrastructure fields took shape with her efforts. As Minister of State for Personnel, Alva initiated the process of administrative decentralization, taking governance to the grass roots.

In 2004, Alva's parliamentary experience was tapped by the Indian Parliament with her appointment as Advisor to the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training, a body set up to help improve standards of legislative functioning in Parliament and State Assemblies by training newly elected MPs and MLAs in their work. She simultaneously served as General Secretary of the AICC for five years. On completion of this assignment (2004-09), Alva was appointed the Governor of Uttarakhand in 2009. She moved to Rajasthan, as Governor, in 2012.

With the Constitution of India enjoining upon Governors of States with sizeable tribal population to monitor progress in Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) areas, Alva - carrying forward a proposal mooted by her predecessor Shivraj Patil -set up a Tribal Cell in Raj Bhawan, Jaipur.

Alva and her late husband Niranjan Alva - both lawyers -- used to practice in the Supreme Court. She has represented India at several international conferences. Recipient of several Awards for contribution to public life, Alva has lectured at, among others, Harvard and Columbia Universities.

A painter, interior decorator and social worker by temperament, Alva enjoys being among people.