Jagdeep Dhankhar files his nomination papers for the post of Vice President of India on Monday, July 18.
New Delhi:
BJP-led NDA’s candidate for the post of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar filed his nomination papers today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was with him, as were cabinet ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.
The opposition has fielded Congress leader Margaret Alva, 77, against 71-year-old Mr Dhankhar, a former West Bengal governor who played a long innings with the BJP in Rajasthan, in the elections to be held on August 6. Tomorrow is the last date for nominations.
The tenure of current Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends on 10 August. Former BJP President and Union Minister Shri Naidu had won a comfortable victory in 2017.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, whose term ends next month, at a farewell banquet with MPs.
Earlier in the day, Mr Dhankhar met MPs from various parties supporting his bid. There were also PM Modi and other senior BJP leaders, including MPs from Biju Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party.
PM Modi had cited Jagdeep Dhankhar’s agricultural background announcing his name. Born in 1951 to a Jat family in Kithana village, Rajasthan, Mr Dhankhar was a lawyer who also practiced in the Supreme Court before entering politics in 1990. He was associated with Devi Lal, a Jat farmer leader from Haryana, former Deputy Prime Minister.
In the short-lived central government led by Chandrashekhar, Mr Dhankhar was a minister. He joined the Congress after PV Narasimha Rao became the PM. But, as Ashok Gehlot rose to the helm of the Congress in his home state, Mr Dhankhar switched to the BJP.
Three years ago, he was appointed governor of West Bengal, where he was running away With the Mamata Banerjee-led government. He was accused by Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress of bidding for the BJP-led central government.
Mr Dhankhar resigned from the post of Governor yesterday to contest for the Vice President, who is also the Speaker of the Rajya Sabha by default.
their opponents, Margaret Alva, has served as the governor of several states. A five-time MP, she was a minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s government.
Meanwhile, voting was on for the next President of India. NDA’s Draupadi Murmu is likely to win easily as many non-NDA parties have also supported her for being from the tribal community. If elected, she would be the first tribal president, and only the second woman to hold office.
Yashwant SinhaThe opposition candidate, yesterday, reminded voters in these elections – MPs and MLAs – that they are not bound by a party whip, so must vote according to “personal conscience”. He described the elections as “not between two individuals but between two ideologies”, and said that, if elected, he would “do everything to protect the Constitution of India and its values”.