Jagdeep Dhankar Sworn in as India’s 14th Vice President

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Published: August 11,2022 04:30 PM
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Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar was on Thursday sworn in as India’s next Vice President

August 11, 2022: Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar was on Thursday sworn in as India’s next Vice President. The oath of office was administered by President Droupadi Murmu at an event at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.



Dhankhar began the day by paying respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. Taking to Twitter, the VP-elect said, "Felt blessed, inspired and motivated to be ever in service of Bharat in serene sublimity of Raj Ghat while paying respects to Pujya Bapu."



Dhankhar, who was the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the vice-presidential election held on 6 August, achieved a comfortable victory over the Opposition's joint candidate Margaret Alva, defeating her with 528 votes against 182.



Born on May 18, 1951, in an agrarian household in a village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district, Dhankhar completed his school education from 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.



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Dhankhar, 71, has practised in both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court of India. He entered public life after getting elected as a Member of Parliament from Jhunjhunu in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections on a Janata Dal ticket. He also served as a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990. His politics was initially influenced by former deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.



Dhankhar, who belongs to the Jat community, later shifted focus to state politics and was elected to the Rajasthan Assembly in 1993 from the Kishangarh constituency in Ajmer district.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.