Advocate, cricket lover and former Governor: Meet Jagdeep Dhankhar, India's new Vice President

NDA's candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar has been elected as the new Vice President of India on Saturday. He got 528 votes against opposition candidate Margaret Alva who got 182 votes. Before being elected as Vice President, he was Governor of West Bengal. 

Meet the 14th Vice President of India: Jagdeep Dhankar

Born in Rajasthan's Kithana village in 1951, Dhankhar was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before he was appointed the Governor of West Bengal in 2019. He completed his primary education at the village school itself.

He studied in Chittorgarh's Sainik School later. He did his graduation from the University of Rajasthan. Jagdeep Dhankhar is a lawyer by profession. Jagdeep Dhankhar became the Senior Advocate of the Rajasthan High Court in 1990.

Political journey

Before joining the BJP, he was a Member of Parliament from Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu during 1989–91. He was a member of the Janata Dal. He was also the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Rajasthan's Kishangarh between 1993-98.

He joined politics in 1989 and became an MP and a Union Minister in 1990. He became the West Bengal Governor in July 2019. Since then, he has had an acrimonious relationship with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress. While the TMC calls him an agent of the BJP in Bengal, the latter calls him the upholder of the constitution.

Dhankhar has called out the Bengal government on a host of issues. The most recent point of contention between the two parties was the matter of making the chief minister the de-facto head of the state universities. He slammed the state government over the decision. Dhankhar has also been accusing the state government of promoting political violence in the state.

Personal life

He is married to Sudesh Dhankhar, a postgraduate in economics. She is a social worker. Their daughter Kamna is married to a Supreme Court lawyer, Kartikeya Vajpayee. He has a deep interest in cricket, spirituality, and meditation.

Jagdeep Dhankhar likes to travel with his family. He has been to many countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

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