Former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sworn in as 14th Vice President of India

After winning the Vice Presidential elections with a clean sweep, former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Thursday sworn in as the 14th Vice President of India.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Dhankhar (71) in a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Dhankhar took the oath in Hindi in the name of god.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dhankhar's predecessor M Venkaiah Naidu were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony. Venkaiah Naidu stepped down from the VP and Rajya Sabha Chairman post on August 10.

NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar won the Vice Presidential elections 2022 on August 6 after gaining a massive majority of votes against opposition candidate Margaret Alva. He won the polls by getting 74.36 percent of the votes, which is the highest winning margin in the last six V-P elections since 1997.

Jagdeep Dhankhar was not just backed by parties that are a part of the NDA alliance, but also several non-NDA parties such as Odisha’s Biju Janta Dal, Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Congress Party, and Uttar Pradesh’s Bahujan Samaj Party.

Born on May 18, 1951, in an agrarian household in a village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, Dhankhar completed his school education at Sainik School, Chittorgarh.

After finishing his graduation in physics, he pursued LLB from the University of Rajasthan. Despite being a first-generation professional, he became one of the leading lawyers in the state. Dhankhar, 71, has practised in both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

Dhankhar was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal in 2019. He resigned from the post of West Bengal Governor on July 17 after his name was announced as the vice Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The Vice President of India, which is the second-highest constitutional post in the country, is elected through an electoral college consisting of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The Vice President is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

(With ANI, PTI inputs)

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