Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday sworn in as the 14th vice president of India, a day after incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu's tenure ends. Dhankhar, a former governor of West Bengal, secured 528 votes against Opposition candidate Margaret Alva's 182. His victory margin was the highest since 1997.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Dhankar. The 71-year-old will be the second vice president from Rajasthan after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who held the office between 2002 and 2007.
With Dhankhar's election, the presiding officers of both Houses of Parliament will be from Rajasthan. The vice president is the chairman of Rajya Sabha. Currently, Om Birla who was elected to Lok Sabha from Rajasthan's Kota is the Lok Sabha speaker.
Dhankhar, who had been associated with the Janata Dal and the Congress, joined the BJP in 2008 after a hiatus of nearly a decade when he concentrated on his legal career. A man of many interests, Dhankhar's long legal career at the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court and a brief stint as the junior parliamentary affairs minister at the Centre is expected to come in handy as he presides over Rajya Sabha.
He has championed issues related to Other Backward Classes, including the grant of OBC status to the Jat community in Rajasthan. The BJP described Dhankhar as "kisan putra" while announcing his candidature for the vice presidential election, a move aimed at reaching out to the politically significant Jat community which had participated in the year-long protests against farm laws.
(Edited by : Priyanka Rathi)
First Published: Aug 11, 2022 12:35 PM IST
