Jagdeep Dhankhar wins India’s first Vice President

Jagdeep Dhankhar, a former Bengal Governor and National Democratic Alliance NDA candidate, has been elected Vice President of India on Saturday. Dhankhar beat the joint opposition candidate Margaret Alva to emerge the winner.

Dhankhar won with a 74.36 per cent vote - the highest in the last six vice-presidential elections - and received 528 votes while Margaret Alva received 182 votes.

With a thumping victory against his rival, Dhankhar's victory signals the continued supremacy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party in the country, as the saffron party holds all the key positions from President, vice-president to Lok Sabha Speaker.

Congratulations were poured in from across the nation.

While this election is over, the battle for protecting the Constitution, strengthening democracy and restoring Parliament's dignity will continue, as a result of Dhankhar's victory, according to opposition candidate Alva. President Droupadi Murmu said that the nation will benefit from Dhankhar's long and rich experience in public life and extended her best wishes for a productive and successful tenure.

Modi met the vice president-elect at the residence of the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and greeted him with a bouquet. The prime minister thanked all the MPs who voted for Dhankhar.

At a time when India marks Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we are proud to have a Kisan Putra Vice President who has excellent legal knowledge and intellectual prowess, according to Modi.

Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji was elected India's Vice President with a resounding support across party lines. I am confident that he will be an outstanding Vice President. Our nation will gain tremendously from his intellect and wisdom, he said.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated Dhankhar and thanked Margaret Alva for representing the spirit of the joint Opposition with grace and dignity.

The Union Minister Rajnath Singh said he is confident that Dhankhar will make an exceptional Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman. The nation will benefit from his long public life, wide experience and deep understanding of people's issues.

According to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Dhankhar will prove to be an ideal guardian of the Constitution while holding the post, besides serving as chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The nation will benefit from your vast experience and legal expertise, according to the outgoing Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. I wish you a successful and fruitful tenure. The 71-year-old Jagdeep Dhankar is also the first BJP nominee for the V-P post to not have started his political journey in Sangh Parivar. Dhankhar is the second vice-president of Rajasthan after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

It should be noted that KR Narayanan, who served as tenth president 1997 2002 and ninth vice president of the country, still holds the title of having the highest victory margin, having secured 700 of the 701 votes cast in 1992.

Dhankhar's performance in the latest V-P polls outshined Venkaiah Naidu's 2017 performance by 2 per cent. Venkaiah Naidu won 67.89 per cent of the total 760 votes in the 2017 V-P polls. In the 2007 Vice-President election, Congress candidate Mohammad Hamid Ansari won 60.51 per cent of the total 762 votes and remained V-P from 2007 to 2017 on the back of 70.51 per cent of the total.

Born in an agrarian household in a remote village in Rajasthan, Dhankhar became one of the leading lawyers in the state and practiced in both the Rajasthan High Court and Supreme Court.

In 1989, Dhankhar entered politics and was elected Lok Sabha from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan during the same year. He also served as a minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar-led Janata Dal government.

Jagdeep Dhankar became governor of West Bengal in 2019.