Jagdeep Dhankhar, National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee and former West Bengal governor.
Who was pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva, became the 14th Vice-President of India on Saturday after winning the 16th election by an overwhelming majority. The counting of votes for the vice-presidential election had begun at 6pm after 92.4 per cent of the members of Parliament cast their ballots.
Dhankhar, who is a lawyer by profession, joined politics in 1989.
He became the governor of West Bengal in July 2019 and has made headlines since then over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government. He tendered his resignation as the governor of West Bengal. The vice president of India, which is the second-highest constitutional post in the country, is elected through an electoral college consisting of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
On Wednesday, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had announced its support for the NDA Dhankhar. Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati announced her party’s support for Dhankhar. Opposition parties on July 17 decided to field former Rajasthan governor Alva as their joint candidate for the vice presidential election.
The decision to field Alva was taken at a meeting of Opposition leaders of 17 parties at the residence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. On Friday, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) announced to support Alva. In 2017, the NDA nominated Venkaiah Naidu as its candidate for the vice-presidential election and his term ends on August 10, 2022.