• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post citing medical reasons on July 21.

• In his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu, Dhankhar said he was stepping down with immediate effect to prioritise health care.

• “To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution,” Dhankhar said in his resignation letter to President Droupadi Murmu.

• According to Article 67(a), a Vice President may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.

• Dhankhar, 74, was sworn in as the 14th Vice President of India on August 11, 2022. 

• His tenure was till August 2027.

• The resignation of Dhankhar, also the Rajya Sabha Chairman, came on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

Dhankhar’s rise to the V-P post

• Dhankhar was born on May 18, 1951 in Kithana village in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.

• Prior to his current position, he served as the governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022. 

• He also served as a Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar ministry from 1990 to 1991, and as a member of Lok Sabha representing Jhunjhunu constituency in Rajasthan from 1989 to 1991.

• Between 1993 and 1998, he was a member of Rajasthan’s Legislative Assembly. He has been affiliated with the BJP, the Congress and the Janata Dal. 

• Dhankhar was the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s candidate in the election for Vice President in 2022.

First Vice President to face no-confidence motion

• In his eventful tenure as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has had several run-ins with the Opposition. 

• Parties of the opposition submitted a notice in the Rajya Sabha for moving a no-confidence motion against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of being “extremely partisan” in his role as the Chairman of the Upper House.

• He was the first Vice President against whom the Opposition brought a no-confidence motion.

• It was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

Previous Vice Presidents who resigned from their post

• Vice President V.V. Giri, who had taken over as the acting President after the death of incumbent Zakir Hussain on May 3, 1969, had resigned from the post.

• Giri resigned as the Vice President on July 2, 1969 to contest the presidential election as an independent candidate.

• Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat resigned from the post on July 21, 2007, after being defeated in the presidential election against Congress-led UPA nominee Pratibha Patil.

• After Shekhawat’s resignation, the Vice President’s post was vacant for 21 days, before Mohammad Hamid Ansari was elected to the position.

• Vice Presidents R. Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma and K.R. Narayanan too had resigned from their posts, but after their election as the  President.

• Krishan Kant was the only Vice President to die in office. He passed away on July 27, 2002.

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