West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday won India’s vice presidential election with more than 500 votes, while opposition candidate Margaret Alva polled less than 200 votes, PTI reported. As many as 55 MPs did not vote in the election, which was held from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday.

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Who is Jagdeep Dhankhar?

Jagdeep Dhankhar was born on May 18, 1951, in Kithana, a small village in Rajasthan in a Jat Family. He completed his schooling at Sainik School, Chittorgarh.

A lawyer by profession, the 71-year-old forayed into politics in 1989, representing Janata Dal. He was elected from Jhunjhunu Parliamentary Constituency.

He was then elected to the Lok Sabha that same year and became a Union Minister in 1990. 

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Dhankar practised in Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court. He was designated a senior advocate in 1990, the same year he became a Union minister. He then became a member of the Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha from 1993 to 1998 representing Kishangarh constituency.

He joined the Congress when P V Narsimha Rao became the prime minister. He then joined the BJP in 2003. 

In July 2019, he was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal and since then he has had several run-ins with the Mamata Banerjee government over various issues.

Also Read: Explained: Why BJP chose Jagdeep Dhankhar as its vice president nominee

Given that the BJP holds a majority in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha electoral colleges, Dhankhar’s election as vice president is almost certain. The BJP alone has 394 MPs, which is more than the 390 needed for a majority of the current 780 members of Parliament.

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