BJP chief JP Nadda on Sunday, 16 July, announced that Jagdeep Dhankhar will be the NDA candidate for the post of Vice President of India.
The office of the vice president will fall vacant on 10 August, following the end of M Venkaiah Naidu's term. Dhankhar currently holds the post of Governor in West Bengal.
Making the announcement, BJP president JP Nadda lauded Dhankhar as a "kisan putra" (farmer's son) who established himself as a "people's governor".
Since assuming charge as the governor of West Bengal in July 2019, Dhankhar has taken on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government regularly over various issues.
PM Modi Tweets About VP Candidate
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted that Dhankar will be the VP candidate.
"Kisan Putra Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji 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 marginalised. Glad that he will be our VP candidate," PM Modi tweeted.
In another tweet, PM Modi expressed confidence that Dhankar will be an "outstanding Chair in the Rajya Sabha."
Who is Jagdeep Dhankar?
According to information from Raj Bhavan Kolkata, Dhankhar was born on 18 May 1951 in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.
He holds a LLB degree from the University of Rajasthan.
He had assumed the charge of the office of the Governor of West Bengal on 30 July 2019.
He was elected as a member of the Rajasthan Bar Council in the year 1988.
In 1989, he was elected to the 9th Lok Sabha from Jhunjhunu Parliamentary Constituency as a Janata Dal candidate, and in 1990 he became the chairman of Parliamentary Committee and also a Union Minister.
He later joined the Congress, and was elected to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from Kishangarh Constituency in Ajmer district from 1993-1998.
Later, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2003. He was the national convener of the BJP’s Law and Legal Affairs Department.
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