On August 6, Dhankhar received the most votes of any candidate in any of the six vice presidential elections that have been held since 1997, garnering 74.36 percent of the total vote. He triumphed by defeating Margaret Alva of the opposition.
Digital Desk: On Thursday, Jagdeep Dhankhar, a former West Bengal governor and NDA candidate, was sworn in as India's fourteenth vice president. At Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, freshly elected president Droupadi Murmu administered Dhankar's oath.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, previous President Ram Nath Kovind, former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and countless other luminaries were present for the swearing-in of the new vice president.
Dhankhar honoured "Pujya Bapu" Mahatma Gandhi at Delhi's Raj Ghat before taking the oath of office.
While paying respect to Pujya Bapu at the serene sublimity of Raj Ghat, Dhankhar wrote, "I felt blessed, inspired, and determined to be ever in service of Bharat.
On August 6, Dhankhar received the most votes of any candidate in any of the six vice presidential elections that have been held since 1997, garnering 74.36 percent of the total vote. He triumphed by defeating Margaret Alva of the opposition.
Dhankhar will also serve as the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Dhankhar is from an agrarian family in a village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district and attended Sainik School in Chittorgarh for his education. After receiving his physics degree, he continued his studies at the University of Rajasthan to obtain his LLB. He was a first-generation professional who rose to become one of the state's top attorneys.
Dhankhar, 71, has experience representing clients before both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court of India. He entered public life after being elected as Jhunjhunu's Member of Parliament in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections on the Janata Dal platform. He also served as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990. The former deputy prime minister Devi Lal initially influenced his political beliefs.
In 2019, Dhankhar, who has a history of disputes with the Mamata Banerjee government, was appointed governor of Bengal. He announced his retirement as governor of West Bengal on July 17, a day after running as the vice presidential candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
With Dhankhar's election as Vice-President, the presiding officers of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will be from Rajasthan.
Continue Reading
