Who Is Jagdeep Dhankhar? NDA's Vice-President Candidate For Upcoming Polls

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on July 16 announced West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as the NDA's vice-presidential candidate. Dhankhar is expected to win the August 6 election for vice-president as the BJP has a clear majority in the electoral college comprising MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. "After all considerations and consultations, we have decided to announce Kisan Putra Jagdeep Dhankhar as the BJP and NDA's candidate for vice-president," Nadda said at a press conference after a meeting of the BJP parliamentary board, the apex decision-making body of the party that lasted nearly two hours reports The Indian Express.

Who Is Jagdeep Dhankhar

A 71- year -old lawyer by training belonging to Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu, Dhankar has been in public life for more than three decades. He studied in a village school and later in a Sainik School in the Chittorgarh district. He later got a degree in Physics from Rajasthan University. He is a first-generation professional as a lawyer. In a short period, he established himself as a respectable lawyer in the Rajasthan High Court and later the Supreme Court. He fought the Lok Sabha polls in 1989 and was Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990.

He also became an MLA from the Kishangarh seat in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. After assuming the post of West Bengal s governor in July 2019, Mr Dhankhar has had several public differences of opinion and run-ins with the Trinamool Congress-led (TMC) Mamata Banerjee government.

A senior minister said: "Dhankhar is a good lawyer, good administrator, has knowledge of parliamentary work and belongs to the Jat community" .In the past, too, the BJP has made severe attempts to woo the Jat community, who are also in significant numbers in Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. The BJP expects electoral gains from Dhankhar's roots because he belongs to a caste group considered a forward community.

PM Modi Lauds!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the announcement, tweeting: "Kisan Putra Jagdeep Dhankarji is known for his humility. He brings with him an illustrious legal, legislative and gubernatorial career. He has always worked for the well-being of farmers, youth, women and the marginalized. Glad that he will be our VP candidate."

In June 2022, BJP nominated its presidential candidate as Draupadi Murmu, a minister in the Odisha government from the Rairangpur constituency, between March 2000 and May 2004 during the BJP rule. Murmu belonged to the Santhal tribe by birth and was elected as the first women governor of Jharkhand in 2015 and remained in the post for six years. Murmu said that she has no political background or any godfathers but said she grew to this stage with hard work and dedication During her tenure as the Jharkhand Governor , Murmu was engaged in pursuing developmental and welfare works among the tribal community.

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