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This unexpected development followed a discussion earlier in the day, where the Prime Minister and senior ministers were closeted in Parliament, presumably addressing this issue
A formal election to fill the vacancy of the Vice President must be held within 60 days of the resignation.(Image: PTI/File)
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar was admitted to AIIMS Delhi for four days in March this year due to cardiac-related ailments. He returned from the hospital hale and hearty. But, in a surprising announcement on Monday, he cited health conditions as the reason for stepping down.
At 74, Dhankhar said he is prioritising his health and following medical advice. This unexpected development followed a discussion earlier in the day, where the Prime Minister and senior ministers were closeted in Parliament, presumably addressing this issue. There seems to be more to the move than meets the eye.
Dhankhar has served less than three years as the Vice-President and chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Just around 4 pm, his office released a statement about his planned official trip to Jaipur on July 23. Dhankhar was also present in the House, where he announced receiving a letter signed by more than 50 MPs calling for the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma. This seemed to have caught the government unawares as the letter was signed by Opposition MPs and Dhankar admitted it. He then instructed the Secretary-General to proceed with the matter.
Sources indicate that the Vice-President came to Rashtrapati Bhavan on very short notice in an unscheduled visit and submitted his resignation to the President without any prior appointment.
There had been murmurs in the corridors about Dhankar’s closeness lately to several opposition leaders of the Congress. He had met Mallikarjun Kharge at the VP Enclave last week and hosted Arvind Kejriwal too for a meeting on Sunday. Dhankar’s campaign for the return of an NJAC-like body to curb corruption in the judiciary also did not have the government on the same page.
Born in 1951 in Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan, Dhankhar hails from a farmer’s family in the Jat community. He enrolled with the Rajasthan Bar in 1979, becoming the state’s senior-most advocate, practising in the Supreme Court and various High Courts, and serving as President of the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.
Entering politics in the 1990s, he was elected as the Lok Sabha MP from Jhunjhunu with the Janata Dal and served as Minister of State for parliamentary affairs under the Chandra Shekhar government. He joined the BJP in 2003. In 2019, he was appointed West Bengal governor, where he had frequent standoffs with the Mamata Banerjee government.
Dhankhar was elected as India’s 14th Vice-President in 2022, taking the oath on August 11, 2022. His leadership was noted for its firmness and occasional partisan perception, leading to an unprecedented impeachment motion filed by opposition parties in December 2024. Dhankhar expressed deep disappointment with the opposition’s move, saying he felt hurt. Some opposition MPs, like Kalyan Banerjee, mimicked Dhankhar at the Parliament gate, highlighting his contentious relationship with the opposition.
The government now faces the task of electing a new Vice-President within the next 60 days. Dhankhar’s resignation comes on the first day of the important monsoon session of Parliament, where discussions on Operation Sindoor and the impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma are scheduled.
Deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, will fill in for Dhankhar for the rest of the monsoon session. The election commission will notify the poll schedule for the Vice-President soon. Only MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha vote in this election using a secret ballot and a proportional system. The million-dollar question remains who the government will choose as the next vice-president.
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office….Read More
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office…. Read More
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