‘At the moment, uniting Oppn is most crucial thing’

Former governor Margaret Alva, 80, faces a tough task as the Opposition’s candidate for the Vice President’s post, with NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar enjoying a comfortable majority in the electoral college. Speaking to Sunetra Choudhury, she said politics is the art of the impossible, and therefore she’s ready to fight. Edited excerpts:

Did the Opposition pull you out of retirement?

I was very political, and very active. I was on the political affairs committee of the Congress in Karnataka. I was addressing meetings, and not just party but also public platforms. I never considered myself out [of politics]. I went to Udaipur for the [Congress party’s chintan] shivir as I was invited.

What did you make of the chintan shivir?

For me, it was like a family wedding in the sense that people whom you hadn’t met for years from were there. It was a lovely, atmosphere. Sonia [Gandhi] ji was there, former CMs, present CMs. We admitted something had gone wrong; and that somewhere it needs to be put right.

Did you have any indication that soon you will be nominated for the V-P election?

Not at all. In fact, I was asleep at home when I got the phone call asking me if I would consent to be the candidate.

Tell us all about it.

I was called even a few days earlier about the Opposition wanting me to be the candidate. Someone (I can’t reveal who) said the Opposition wants to make you their candidate, would you be willing to walk with us? I said, ‘why me?’ He said because they feel you are the most acceptable candidate. I said, ‘does the Congress also know?’ He said, ‘we have discussed with them’. I said, in that case, no problem. I know it’s a losing battle, but I am prepared to be the Opposition’s voice. Then they said they were having a meeting, and put me on speaker.

I said, well, I’m humbled by your request and if you all feel that I am fit enough to fight, I am prepared to fight.

Any other calls in between or from your party?

Nothing. I met Mrs Gandhi. Rahul was there yesterday for the nomination. They called me for tea in Sharad Pawar’s house, when I met everybody.

What did Mrs Gandhi say?

I went to her, met her. I said it has come as a surprise; she said“fight it”. In politics, win or lose, you fight a battle because you believe in something. I feel that uniting the Opposition is the most crucial thing at the moment. If I can be an instrument in that process, I am glad. It’s not a question of winning or losing, it’s a question of responding to a challenge before the nation.

How do you see bringing people together? You said that it’s a losing battle.

I don’t say it’s a losing battle at all, I say it’s a challenging battle. Numbers are stacked against us but I still believe there are many, among their allies, among their own members, who have an inner feeling of unhappiness. I don’t know how they will respond but the appeal is to all MPs, in the interest of democracy and the future of my nation, that they should consider me as a unifying factor that will bring consensus.

Where do you think TMC stands in this whole thing?

They didn’t come to the meetings. Mamata is a very good friend of mine. Our relationship goes back to her Youth Congress days. Whatever else people may say, she was groomed in the Congress. So, that inner commitment to the ideology of the Congress is there.

Do you think it’s sad that Congress has come to such a position that it has to rely on other like-minded parties to nominate its own?

What’s sad about it? My point is that you need the numbers and Congress is still the largest party in the grouping. But the question is not you and me, it’s a question of us together. It doesn’t matter who is big. You have one-member parties, you have two-member parties, but the question is, ‘are we prepared to come in a common platform and face the challenge?’

The BJP has made an issue of your book revelations and frank comments about the Congress. Do you think that will be a factor in poll?

What is wrong in that? Manmohan Singh ji said, “I would have liked it had you in the government but Sonia ji wanted you in the party.” I mean, while the UPA was in power, she made me general secretary, in charge of eight states, a record in AICC. She had so much faith in me.

You don’t feel that you didn’t get your due from the party?

No. All that I have achieved... is because of my party. Who was I? I was made the first woman block president in Karnataka after the 1969 spilt. I have risen from a block president to become general secretary of the party. I’ve held every post at everywhere... all because of my party.

What are your thoughts on G23 movement?

These are all people who had grown up in the Congress, and if they have a point of view, they should all sit together and talk about it. Kapil Sibal may have his own agenda, I don’t know, maybe he wanted to be back in Parliament. Whatever it is but Ghulam Nabi and all the others, they are all committed Congress people, like I am. We may have differences on some policy. Now, expressing it is not betrayal. It’s honesty to put the party right and everybody realised.

What do you think of your opponent?

Well, he has been an ex-governor, so have I. He has been in Parliament, so have I. He’s a lawyer, so am I. Only thing is he was fighting a woman in Benga, a tough woman, And now he is thrown in to fight another tough woman, in this election. Maybe it’s in his stars.