National Democratic Alliance’s nominee Jagdeep Dhankhar won the vice-presidential elections held on Saturday defeating Opposition's Margaret Alva. The former governor of West Bengal, known for his frequent run-ins with the Mamata Banerjee government, had numbers heavily stacked in his favour.
He is the second leader from Rajasthan after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to reach the high office of vice president.
Dhankhar was born in an agrarian household in a remote village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district. After finishing his schooling at Sainik School, Chittorgarh, he did graduation in Physics and then pursued LLB from the University of Rajasthan and became one of the leading lawyers in the state.
He practiced in both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court. He also headed Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.
In 1989, he forayed into politics and was elected to Lok Sabha from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu the same year. He served as a minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs in the Janata Dal government led by Chandra Shekhar. From 1993-1998, Dhankhar represented the Kishangarh constituency of Ajmer district in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
Dhankar belongs to the politically important Jat community, a caste which influences votes in a number of north Indian states.
ALSO WATCH: Polling for vice-presidential election concludes, counting to begin soon