New Delhi: farmer son (Farmer’s son), a first generation lawyer and public governor, described by BJP chief JP Nadda as West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar while announcing his name as NDA’s vice-president candidate.
In 2019, Dhankhar was made the governor of West Bengal primarily because of his legal expertise in an opposition-ruled state. Three years later, if elected on August 6, he will find his understanding of the law easier while trying to strike a balance in the Rajya Sabha, where the distinction between the Treasury and the opposition bench is not as prominent in the Lok Sabha.
Dhankhar’s appointment is also significant from a political point of view as the BJP reaches out to pacify Jats, who have been angry with the Modi government since the days of the agrarian agitation. The community has considerable influence in Rajasthan, where elections are due next year, and Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Once Dhankhar is elected, Rajasthan will have the distinction of sending presiding leaders to both the houses of the Parliament – Lok Sabha Speak Om Birla is a Member of Parliament from Kota.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said that by fielding a Jat candidate, the party will be able to break the unity among the opposition parties as seen in the case of presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu.
Born in a remote village in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan to a farmer family, Dhankhar completed his schooling from Sainik School, Chittorgarh. After completing his graduation in Physics from Maharaja College, Jaipur, he did LLB from Rajasthan University in 1979.
Despite being a first generation lawyer, he became one of the names of Rajasthan. Dhankhar has practiced in the Rajasthan High Court as well as the Supreme Court.
His political career started in 1989 when he successfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Jhunjhunu on Janata Dal ticket. He was given the election ticket mainly because of his relationship with his guru Devi Lal. He then became the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990. In 1993, he was elected to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from Kishangarh on a Congress ticket., The former Supreme Court lawyer had joined BJP in 2003. His brother Randeep Dhankhar is still with the Congress.
Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria said Bhairon Singh Sekhwat was the Chief Minister when he (Dhankhar) was elected MLA. He was in Congress at that time. His arguments caught Sekhwat’s attention during the debate on the bills. After losing the election, he shifted his base to Delhi and kept in touch with most of the central leaders. ,
Former BJP MP from Dhankhar’s family Ram Singh Kaswan confirmed the networking skills of the senior leader. “When he was in Delhi, he used to meet many people,” Kaswan said.
Another BJP source said Dhankhar was in the team of lawyers who countered the terror charges leveled against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar by the previous UPA government.
“He fought many cases on behalf of the RSS leader. At that time his role as a lawyer was noticed and he was rewarded when Amit Shah-Narendra Modi came to Delhi,” the source said.
As governor of Bengal, Dhankhar had a series of flashpoint With the Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee. While the Bengal government has often accused him of being a ‘man of the Centre’, Dhankhar has maintained that he has followed his role mandated by the Constitution.
Be it the Jadavpur University mess and the appointment of a DGP, or the government’s handling of the Covid crisis and relief efforts after Cyclone Amphan, Dhankhar was often on opposite ends with Mamata. Such was the heated argument between the two that a TMC delegation had written to President Ram Nath Kovind in December 2020 urging him to recall the governor.
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Rajasthan elections in mind
Kataria told ThePrint that Dhankhar has proved that he is not only savvy in the law, but can also work in an opposition-ruled state like West Bengal. “Taking action in the Rajya Sabha is also like managing the situation in Bengal. NDA has majority but BJP needs people like Dhankhar, who have learned the art of running government business in difficult circumstances. suspension Out of 12 members of Rajya Sabha last year
Kataria said that a strong personality is needed to do justice to the role of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
But the BJP also chose Dhankhar for electoral consideration, noting that everyone, from the Prime Minister to other BJP leaders, mentioned his role. farmer son And to fight for the rights of Jat farmers.
In Rajasthan, Jats constitute about 12 per cent of the total electorate. BJP sources said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will be particularly skeptical about Dhankhar’s nomination as he cannot go against his party’s whip to oppose the candidature.
BJP MP from Ganganagar Nihal Chand Chauhan, told ThePrint that Dhankhar’s selection would send the right message to the Jats ahead of the assembly elections. “He was instrumental in fighting for the Jat farmers… He fought to get OBC status for Jats in Rajasthan.”
However, former state BJP president Arun Chaturvedi told ThePrint that in 1998, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to Sikar to address a rally of Jat farmers demanding reservation, the BJP stalwart had announced that the government would be formed. After that BJP will fulfill the demand of reservation. Make. “Gyan Prakash Pilaniya was the leader of that movement; Dhankhar was leading the movement in some other parts.
Other BJP leaders told ThePrint that although Dhankhar was not the face of the Jat movement, his association with the cause will always be remembered in Rajasthan.
The community’s unease with the BJP is well-known, as seen in neighboring Haryana after the party elected non-Jat Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister. Following this, the BJP held a heated meeting with the Jannayak Janata Party to quell the community’s anger in that state.
a central BJP leader He said that when Dhankhar takes over as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, work has been cut for him. “He will have to fill the space left by Venkaiah Naidu, who has more legislative experience and ties in political parties. Dhankhar’s belligerent nature can anger the opposition. He will have to use his persuasion and legal skills to handle the proceedings in the House of Elders,” the BJP leader said.
(Edited by Tony Rae)
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