NEW DELHI: Jagdeep Dhankhar took oath as the 14th Vice-President of India on Thursday. He was administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Dhankhar succeeds M Venkaiah Naidu, whose term ended on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and Nirmala Sitharaman were present for Dhankhar's sweaing-in ceremony.
Outgoing Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, former President Ram Nath Kovind, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla too were present for the occasion.
Dhankhar was elected vice-president on August 6, after defeating the opposition candidate Margaret Alva. He secured 528 votes against Alva's 182.
Here's all you need to know about Dhankhar's journey, from being a lawyer to the second-highest constitutional office in the country.
- Born on 18 May 1951 in Kithana village of Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan
- A Physics graduate of University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, also pursued LLB from the same university
- Practised law at Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court
- Former president of Rajasthan High Court Bar Association
- Elected MP from Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections on a Janata Dal ticket
- Elected to Rajasthan assembly from Kishangarh in the 1993 state polls
- Appointed governor of West Bengal in July 2019
- Contested 2022 vice-presidential election against opposition candidate Margaret Alva
- Won convincingly, securing 528 votes against Alva's 182
- Sworn in as 14th Pice-President on August 11, 2022