NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankar has become the new vice president of India winning 528 votes, while the Opposition candidate Margaret Alva won only 182 votes. Dhankar, who was previously the West Bengal governor, required 372 votes to win.
President Droupadi Murmu congratulated him saying, "Congratulations to Jagdeep Dhankhar on being elected the Vice President of India. The nation will benefit from your long and rich experience of public life. My best wishes for a productive and successful tenure."
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the new vice president at his Delhi residence right after the news of the election was announced.
Here's what you need to know about the new Indian vice president:
Dhankar is 71 years old and was born into a farmer's family in the Kithana village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu. While Dhankar has been in public life for more than three decades, his latest held position was that of the governor of West Bengal. He became the governor in 2019 and later tendered his resignation in July 2022 after being nominated for the position of vice president.
Dhankar is a lawyer by profession who graduated from Rajasthan University. In an interview with Bar and Bench, he said that he began his career in 1979 in the Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court and was also the youngest president of the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association in the year 1987. Dhankar has also been a senior advocate in the Supreme Court.
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Dhankar became a member of the Lok Sabha in 1989 after winning an election in the Jhunjhunu constituency. He was then part of the Janata Dal. He has also been a member of the legislative assembly from Rajasthan's Kishangarh constituency since 1993.
NDTV reports that Dhankar was part of the Congress when PV Narasimha Rao was prime minister and later joined the BJP.