What is the reason behind Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation? Health issues or closeness to opposition?

Just before announcing the resignation, his office had shared information about his visit to Jaipur on July 23. VP Jagdeep Dhankhar was also present in Parliament and had received a motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, signed by more than 50 MP’s of the Rajya Sabha. He had been admitted to AIIMS due to a heart problem but returned healthy. It is being speculated that his closeness to the opposition might have influenced his resignation.

New Delhi: India's Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday took a sudden and shocking decision and resigned from his post. He cited health reasons behind this. In March 2025, he was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi for four days due to a heart problem, after which he returned healthy. But the recent resignation has caused a stir in political circles.

74-year-old Dhankhar said that he is now giving priority to health and is following the advice of doctors. This announcement on Monday surprised everyone, especially when the same day the Prime Minister and some senior ministers were seen discussing in solitude in Parliament House. It is believed that this conversation was probably related to this issue.

Just health reasons, or something else?

Dhankhar has served as Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for less than three years. Interestingly, just hours before his resignation, his office had shared information about his visit to Jaipur on July 23.

Apart from this, he was also present in Parliament, where he accepted the letter demanding impeachment against Justice Yashwant Verma.

Suddenly resigned after reaching Rashtrapati Bhavan

According to sources, Dhankhar reached Rashtrapati Bhavan without any prior information and submitted his resignation to President Draupadi Murmu. Many speculations are being made about the reason behind this sudden decision.

Growing closeness with the opposition?

There is a discussion in Parliament that in recent times, there was discomfort in the BJP over Dhankhar's growing closeness to opposition leaders. Recently, he met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and also held a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday.

Apart from this, advocating the return of an institution like NJAC to prevent transparency and corruption in the judiciary is also considered to be the reason for differences between him and the government.

Who is Jagdeep Dhankhar?

Dhankhar belongs to the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. He was born on 18 May 1951 into a normal farmer family. He received early education from his village and then enrolled in Sainik School, Chittorgarh. He was also selected for the National Defense Academy (NDA), but he chose not to go there. After this he completed his graduation and then LLB from Rajasthan University. After this, he started practicing law while living in Jaipur.

How has his political career been?

70-year-old Jagdeep Dhankhar has also been the Governor of West Bengal. He was appointed the 28th Governor of Bengal by the then President Ram Nath Kovind on 30 July 2019. Earlier, he was an MP from the Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha seat from 1989 to 1991. During this period, he also served as a Union Minister in the governments of VP Singh and Chandrashekhar.