The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on Saturday announced West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its vice-president candidate. BJP national president JP Nadda made this announcement. Dhankhar, 71, is known to have been at odds with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress since becoming governor in July 2019.
But there is more to him than this. Dhankhar was instrumental in getting OBC status to Jats in Rajasthan and likes to beat his desi cappuccino style. Described as ‘Kisan Putra’ (son of a farmer) by Nadda, Dhankhar is a lawyer by profession. He entered politics in 1989 and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan in the same year and became a Union Minister in 1990. His legal career was successful, where he became the youngest President of the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.
Dhankhar has been in public life for more than three decades and his life story depicts social and economic struggles. Born into a farming family in a remote village in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, Dhankhar worked tirelessly as a professional. According to various official accounts, he used to walk 4 to 5 km to a government school when he was in class VI and has been a cricketer as well as a keen student of spirituality and meditation.
Dhankhar was named a senior advocate in 1990, the same year he became a Union minister. He was also a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly representing the Kishangarh constituency from 1993 to 1998.
The lawyer-turned-politician was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and since then she has a bad relationship with the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state. The TMC leadership has often accused him of acting as an “agent of the BJP”, while the saffron party in the state sees him as a “protector of constitutional norms”.
Dhankhar has raised his voice against issues ranging from post-poll violence in Bengal to delays in clearing bills passed in the House besides interference in the functioning of civil bureaucracy and state-run universities.
The governor has often said that he is a “reluctant politician” and he graduated with honors in Physics from Maharaja College in Jaipur and obtained his LLB degree from Jaipur University in 1978–79. Earlier, he completed his schooling from Sainik School, Chittorgarh on full merit scholarship after his primary education from Government School in Kithana village, Jhunjhunu where he was born in 1951. She is married to Sudesh Dhankhar and the couple has a daughter.
Dhankhar’s candidature was announced after a meeting of the BJP’s parliamentary board with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, as well as Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The previous NDA candidate M Venkaiah Naidu had won the election comfortably in 2017. His term ends on August 10.
(with PTI inputs)
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