West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar is NDA’s Vice-Presidential candidate
Team News Riveting
New Delhi, July 16
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday named West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, a Jat leader from Rajasthan with socialist background, as the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s Vice- Presidential candidate.
Dhankhar, who took over as the West Bengal Governor in July 2019, is better known for having several run-ins with the Mamata Banerjee government. But this was not the eligibility for his being selected as NDA candidate for the Vice President post.
The BJP probably picked him for being a Jat, a backward community in Rajasthan. His elevation as Vice President will send a political message for the BJP as not many Jats barring former Prime Minister Charan Singh and former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal have occupied coveted positions at the national level.
The party had uneasy relations with Jats, a powerful agrarian community in Haryana, Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh. The move would consolidate its Jat votes.
Besides Jat, the BJP is likely to expand its footprint among tribals with the election ofDraupadi Murmu as the President of India. She will be the first President from the tribal community where BJP is concentrating to increase its influence.
The election of Draupadi Murmu and Dhankhar is almost certain as the BJP has a majority in the electoral college comprising members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Out of Parliament’s current strength of 780, the BJP alone has 394 MPs, more than the majority mark of 390.
