Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda on Saturday evening declared that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar would be the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the post of Vice-President.
The announcement was made at a press conference after a meeting of the BJP’s Parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making authority, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
“BJP’s Parliamentary Board has come to the decision that we nominate ‘ kisan putra ’ (son of a farmer) Jagdeep Dhankhar as the NDA’s candidate for Vice-President,” Mr. Nadda said after the meeting.
“We all know that Jagdeep Dhankhar- ji is currently West Bengal Governor and has been in public life for over three decades. He belongs to a family of farmers and he overcame socioeconomic hurdles in his life to go on to record high achievement in public life,” Mr. Nadda said.
“He grew up in a village in Jhunjhunu district, and he studied in a village school and later in a Sainik School in Chittorgarh district. It was on a full merit scholarship that he moved from his village school to the Sainik School. He later got a degree in physics from Rajasthan University and a degree in law. He is a first-generation professional as a lawyer, and in a very short time, he established himself as a meritorious lawyer in the Rajasthan High Court and later the Supreme Court as well. He fought the Lok Sabha election in 1989, and was Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990. He also became an MLA for Kishangrah in Alwar district of Rajasthan,” Mr. Nadda said.
“We know that his image as a Governor has been that of a people’s Governor. All these things were kept in mind as the BJP nominated him to be the NDA nominee for the post of Vice President,” Mr. Nadda added.
Stint as Bengal Governor
Mr. Nadda did not provide any further details on the nomination date. July 19 is the last date to file nominations.
As West Bengal Governor, Mr. Dhankhar has had several very public differences of opinion and run-ins with the Trinamool Congress-led Mamata Banerjee government and has been steadfast in his views over his constitutional space as Governor.
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