West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar was named the vice presidential candidate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance on Saturday. The decision was taken at a BJP parliamentary board meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president J.P. Nadda.
"After all considerations and consultations, we have decided to announce kisan putra (farmer's son) Jagdeep Dhankhar as the BJP and NDA's candidate for Vice President," Nadda said after the meeting. Senior Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also attended the meeting.
"Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has excellent knowledge of our Constitution. He is also well-versed with legislative affairs. I am sure that he will be an outstanding Chair in the Rajya Sabha & guide the proceedings of the House with the aim of furthering national progress," Modi tweeted oon after the announcement.
The BJP is in a strong position to ensure the victory of its candidate. The electoral college for picking the next vice president, who is also the ex-officio Rajya Sabha chairperson, comprises members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Out of Parliament's current strength of 780, the BJP alone has 394 MPs, more than the majority mark of 390.
The last date for filing of nomination papers for the poll is July 19 and the election is scheduled for August 6.
Who is Dhankar?
Many an eyebrow was raised in July, when Dhankhar was appointed governor of West Bengal. The low-profile lawyer appeared to be the antithesis of what the ruling Trinamool Congress was anticipating. The party had expected the Union government to appoint a hardcore Hindutva leader, since relations between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hit a new low in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in April and May. Dhankhar was a surprising choice.
Dhankhar replaced K.N. Tripathi as governor. Tripathi, too, did not get along well with Mamata, and the fiery Dhankhar picked up from where his predecessor had left off. He wanted the chief minister to brief him on all important matters and senior officials to report to him directly. In the beginning days, he visited nine districts in four months, interacting with the people and calling meetings with officials. Many officials kept away from the meetings, apparently at the instance of the chief minister.
A senior Supreme Court lawyer and member of the International Court of Arbitration, he was known for fighting high-profile cases. He was actor Salman Khan’s counsel in the blackbuck poaching case in Rajasthan.