Jagdeep Dhankhar

Jagdeep Dhankhar
Official portrait, 2022
14th Vice President of India
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 August 2022
President	Droupadi Murmu
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	M. Venkaiah Naidu
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 August 2022
President	Droupadi Murmu
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Deputy	Harivansh Narayan Singh
Preceded by	M. Venkaiah Naidu
Chancellor of Delhi University
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 August 2022
Vice Chancellor	Yogesh Singh
Preceded by	M. Venkaiah Naidu
21st Governor of West Bengal
In office 30 July 2019[1] – 18 July 2022[2]
Chief Minister	Mamata Banerjee
Preceded by	Keshari Nath Tripathi
Succeeded by	La. Ganesan (additional charge)
Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs
In office 21 November 1990 – 21 June 1991
President	R. Venkataraman
Prime Minister	Chandra Shekhar
Minister	Satya Prakash Malaviya
Deputy PM	Devi Lal
Succeeded by	R. K. Kumar
Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
In office 4 December 1993 – 29 November 1998
Governor	Bali Ram Bhagat Darbara Singh Navrang Lal Tibrewal
Speaker of Assembly	Hari Shankar Bhabhra Shanti Lal Chaplot
Preceded by	Jagjeet Singh
Succeeded by	Nathu Ram
Constituency	Kishangarh[3]
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 2 December 1989 – 21 June 1991
President	R. Venkataraman
Speaker	Rabi Ray
Preceded by	Mohd. Ayub Khan
Succeeded by	Mohd. Ayub Khan
Constituency	Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan
Personal details
Born	(1951-05-18) 18 May 1951 (age 73) Kithana, Rajasthan, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (1991–2003) Janata Dal (until 1991)
Spouse	Sudesh Dhankhar ​ (m. 1979)​
Residence	Vice President's Enclave, New Delhi
Alma mater	University of Rajasthan (BA, LLB)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lawyer
Website	Official Website

Jagdeep Dhankhar (born 18 May 1951) is an Indian politician and lawyer, serving as the 14th and current vice president of India since 2022. He previously served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022. He also served as a Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar ministry from 1990 to 1991. He was a member of Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991 and later a Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1993 to 1998. He has also been affiliated with multiple political parties in India, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress and Janata Dal.

Dhankhar was born on 18 May 1950 in Kithana, a village in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India into a Rajasthani Hindu Jat family to Gokal Chand and Kesari Devi.^[4][5] He completed his school education from Sainik School, Chittorgarh. Dhankhar completed his primary and middle school education from Kithana Government School and Ghardhana Government School respectively. He graduated in B.Sc and LLB from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur.^[6][7]

Dhankhar married Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar in 1979, and they have a daughter, Kamna.^[8]

Dhankhar enrolled with the Bar Council of Rajasthan as an Advocate in 1979. He was designated as Senior Advocate by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan in 1990, and was the senior-most designated Senior Advocate of the state till taking the oath as Governor on 30 July 2019.^[9]

Since 1990, Dhankhar had been practicing primarily in the field of constitutional law as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India. He has appeared in various High Courts of India.^[10] He is a former President of Rajasthan High Court Bar Association, Jaipur.^[11]

Dhankhar had appeared in the Sutlej River water dispute in 2016, he argued on behalf of the state of Haryana in the Supreme Court of India.^[12]

He has been a member of Janata Dal and Indian National Congress in past.^[13] He was a member of parliament of Janata Dal representing Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan during 1989–91 in the 9th Lok Sabha.

He joined Congress in 1991. He lost the 1991 Indian general election from Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency.^[14] He was elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Kishangarh, Rajasthan during 1993–98 in the 10th Legislative Assembly Rajasthan.^[15]

He lost the 1998 Indian general election from Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha constituency and came on third position.^[14]

He joined the BJP in 2003.^[13] He was a member of 2008 assembly election campaign committee of BJP. In 2016, he headed the BJP's law and legal affairs department.^[14]

On 20 July 2019, Second Modi ministry through, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed him as Governor of West Bengal.^[16] T. B. Radhakrishnan, Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court administered the Oath of Office to Jagdeep Dhankhar on 30 July 2019 at the Raj Bhavan, Kolkata^[17]

After becoming the governor of West Bengal, Dhankhar had frequent public confrontations with the state government and chief minister of the state Mamata Banerjee throughout his tenure.^[18][13] Dhankhar had been a vocal critic of the Third Banerjee ministry,^[19][20] and frequently used Twitter and media to attack the West Bengal government over political issues. In response the Trinamool Congress (TMC) referred Dhankhar as the 'real leader of the opposition'. In January 2022, CM Banerjee blocked Dhankhar on Twitter and accused him of mentioning her in his tweets daily and speaking in an unethical and abusive way.^[14]

On 13 July 2022, Dhankar met with Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee and Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sharma.^[21] Later on 15 July 2022, Dhankar visited Delhi and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah there.^[22] He resigned as Governor on 17 July 2022, after being nominated as the vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance.^[23]

On 16 July 2022, the BJP nominated Dhankhar as the National Democratic Alliance's candidate for Vice President of India for the 2022 election the following month.^[24] Dhankhar has been projected as a kisan putra (farmer's son) by the BJP.^[5] He contested against the United Opposition's candidate, Margaret Alva, a former Union Minister and Governor from the Indian National Congress. On 18 July 2022, Dhankhar filed his nomination papers for the vice-president elections. He was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other union ministers and BJP politicians.^[25]

He contested against the United Opposition's candidate, Margaret Alva. The elections were conducted on 6 August, 2022 and the same evening, the counting of votes was carried out. Dhankhar emerged victorious by securing 528 votes out of 710 valid votes over opposition candidate Margaret Alva's 182. All India Trinamool Congress abstained from the election with only two members voting.^[26]

Dhankhar won the 2022 election with 74.37% votes and recorded a highest poll-victory margin since the 1992 election.^[24][27]

Dhankar assumed the office on 11 August 2022 succeeding Venkaiah Naidu, with the oath administered by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu in the central banquet hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.^[28]

The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of Office of Vice-president of India to Jagdeep Dhankhar on 11.08.2022.

Jagdeep Dhankhar's first official foreign visit^[29] as vice-president was to Cambodia in November 2022. He represented India at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Cambodia and celebrating the 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN relations during the India-ASEAN Friendship Year.

Vice-president Dhankhar had meetings with the Prime Minister of Cambodia and the President of the Senate, and also met the Prime Minister of Vietnam on the sidelines of the summits. In the presence of Vice-president Dhankhar and Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, three MoUs and one Financing arrangement were exchanged related to cooperation in the areas of Culture, Biodiversity & Health.

During his visit, Dhankhar attended a community reception hosted by the Indian community in Phnom Penh. He also called on the king of Cambodia, H.E. Norodom Sihamoni at the Royal Palace.

The vice-president visited the heritage sites of Ta Prohm Temple and Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap and examined the restoration and conservation work at these cultural heritage sites, carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India. He inaugurated the Hall of Dancers at the Ta Prohm Temple. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap) and has been carried out since 2011.

At the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, Vice-president Dhankhar visited Qatar on 20-21 November 2022.^[30]

Vice-president Dhankhar joined the Amir of the State of Qatar and other dignitaries at the inauguration of the FIFA World Cup 2022. On the sidelines, he interacted with the Emir of Qatar, UN Secretary General, FIFA President, IOC President and several other world leaders.

During this visit, he met with prominent members of the Indian community, including businessmen, educationists, doctors, and blue-collar workers. He acknowledged the contributions of over 840,000 Indians in Qatar and encouraged participation in the upcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas celebrations. During his official visit to Qatar, Dhankhar also visited the Qatar National Museum.

Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar visited London, United Kingdom (UK) on 05-06 May 2023^[31] to attend the Coronation ceremony of H.M. King Charles III on behalf of the Government of India. Dhankhar's presence marked the second time that an Indian leader attended the coronation event in the UK, after a gap of nearly seven decades. Last time, former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru represented India when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned.

Ahead of the coronation, Vice-president Dhankhar and his wife, Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar met King Charles III, the United States First Lady Jill Biden, President of Israel- Isaac Herzog, President of Italy- Sergio Mattarella, President of Brazil- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and other world leaders during a reception hosted by the Monarch at Buckingham Palace.

On the first day of his visit, Dhankhar also addressed the members of the Indian community in the United Kingdom where he noted that Indian democracy, at the moment, is functioning at a level which is unmatched anywhere in the world.

Following the coronation, he also joined leaders of the Commonwealth countries at a special event hosted by King Charles III at the Marlborough House, London and exchanged views with Commonwealth leaders on strengthening the institution of the Commonwealth.

On 22 May 2024, Vice-president Dhankhar visited the Islamic Republic of Iran^[32] to attend the official ceremony to pay condolences on the tragic demise of President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Dr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on 19 May 2024.^[33]

Dhankhar interacts with foreign dignitaries and delegations regularly in his capacity as the vice-president of India.

On the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, organised under India's Presidency of the G20,^[34] Vice-president Dhankhar met several foreign delegations at his residence. At a dinner hosted on the conclusion of the summit,^[35] Dhankhar interacted with distinguished leaders from across the globe.

Jagdeep Dhankhar, a legal mind, Sainik School alumnus, once aspired to join the defence forces himself. He possesses geostrategic acumen and has been invited to address defence personnel from India and other countries at various national and international fora. Jagdeep Dhankhar staunchly believes that the emergence of India as a global economic power is a stabilising factor for global peace and harmony and has emphasised that fair representation of India in decision-making bodies like UNSC is the need of the hour.^[36]

Jagdeep Dhankhar, as Chief Guest delivered the special address at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2023^[37] steered by the Indian Army in collaboration with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. In his address he supported global peace, but called for being vigilant and prepared while upholding peace through a multifaceted approach, combining ideation, advocacy, outreach, persuasion, and dialogue. He further remarked that "being prepared for war is a pathway to peace."  

He believes that the current geostrategic scenario is driven by the technological changes taking place in the world. He opines that the future belongs to those countries which will master the emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, data analysis, robotics, semiconductor, biotech, hypersonics and quantum computing.

In his address, he categorically stated “Prowess & mastery of Deep technologies will determine the strategic haves and have nots of the future. National Security today is an aggregation of myriad attributes; the military is just one part of the pie.^[38]”

Jagdeep Dhankhar has repeatedly praised the increased participation of women in Indian Defence forces, grant of permanent commission to women and admission of girls in Sainik Schools.

Jagdeep Dhankhar as Chief Guest delivered the keynote address at the 2023 edition^[39] of the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) organised by National Maritime Foundation (NMF) in New Delhi. In his address, Jagdeep Dhankhar said the oceans are emerging as the new frontier for global contestation and the Indo-Pacific is facing an explosive global scenario with many cliff-hanging situations. While delivering the keynote address, he supported a free and peaceful rule-based Indo-Pacific region marked by collaborative security and innovative partnerships. He called for a just and effective global regulatory regime that respects the right over EEZ, for the sustainable and equitable exploitation of marine resources and Sea-bed in high seas. In his address he also underlined “You cannot negotiate peace from a position of weakness; you have to be strong on all fundamentals.”^[40]

On 1st September, 2023, Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar blessed the frigate and named it 'Mahendragiri' before it sailed into the waters of the Arabian Sea.^[41] During the launch of the warship “Mahendragiri” in Mumbai, Dhankhar lauded the role played by the Indian Navy as a vehicle of peace and goodwill during the crisis and emphasised that India's maritime strength is quintessential for India's economic and strategic upsurge. Underlining India's role as the net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region, Dhankhar referred to INS Vikrant as a symbol of indigenous potential, skills & nation's ambitions to ride over high-tides.

Dhankhar also visited INS DEGA on his visit to Visakhapatnam.^[42]

Vice-president, Dhankhar presided over the inauguration of International Maritime Seminar- MILAN 2024 in Visakhapatnam.^[43] In his address he cautioned that unilateral actions & disregard for international law can jeopardise the security & stability of the entire region. Referring to the recent challenges to the global rule based order and supply chain disruptions, Vice-president stated that Bharat believes in respecting the boundaries and fostering a rules based maritime order and opined that India's maritime strength will be critical to the aim of Viksit Bharat @2047. “We believe that scrupulous adherence to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is imperative, essential and the only way for the peaceful coexistence and sustainable use of maritime resources.”^[44] he further added in his address.

Once an NCC cadet at Sainik School, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Jagdeep Dhankhar enjoys interacting with young and dynamic Sainik School and NCC cadets. He has visited Sainik Schools in Chittorgarh and Jhunjhunu and has inaugurated NCC Republic day camp 2023 and 2024. He has also interacted with cadets from Sainik School Ghorakhal in Parliament House.^[45]

In his interactions he has lauded the significant contribution of both these organisations in nation building through character building and inculcating lifelong discipline in young minds. He says, NCC Cadets represent India's unity in diversity.^[46] He lauds the recent step of admission of girls in Sainik Schools and calls for establishment of more and more Sainik Schools so that quality education and a disciplined, healthy lifestyle can be imparted to the youth of this nation.^[47] NCC creates awareness amongst youth about the diverse heritage of our country and fosters national integration despite linguistic, cultural, religious and geographical barriers.^[48] NCC develops a spirit of working in tandem and togetherness, says Dhankhar. In the NCC there is organic development of Ethics and social values, the spirit of unity and value of personal sacrifice.  He stresses that NCC is a trained human reservoir to give selfless service to society and be available anytime for any national cause. “NCC can be described as the nation's disciplined, trained and motivated young force available for national service,” stresses Dhankhar.^[49]

• List of governors of West Bengal
• 2022 Indian vice presidential election