West Bengal Governor Jadgeep Dhankar was voted the next Vice-President of India on Saturday. He tendered his resignation from the governorship before assuming the charge of Vice-President.
The voting for choosing the Vice-President, which began at 10 am, ended at 5 pm. UPA’s candidate Margaret Alva was contesting against the NDA candidate for the post. In the election, Dhankar had the advantage of the support of several regional parties like Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK and the Shiv Sena, while Trinamool Congress stayed away from the election.
Jagdeep Dhankar was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party prior to becoming the Governor of West Bengal. He served as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar ministry.
Dhankhar was born on 18 May 1951 to Gokal Chand and Kesari Devi in Kithana, a small village in Jhunjhunu in the State of Rajasthan in a Hindu Jat family.
He won the election with 528 votes. Opposition’s Margaret Alva got less than 200 votes.