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A lawyer-turned-politician, Dhankhar’s Bengal stint was among the most contentious in India’s federal history as he styled himself a fierce protector of constitutional propriety.
Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resigned from the post of VP on Monday evening. File pic/PTI
In the summer of 2019, when Jagdeep Dhankhar walked into the stately corridors of Kolkata’s Raj Bhavan, probably a few expected that the newly appointed Governor would soon become the principal political antagonist of the state government. And, fewer still could have predicted that within almost four years, he would be elevated to the Vice-President’s office, having transformed a largely ceremonial role into an arena of relentless but legally sound confrontation, constitutional provocation, and social media (X) diplomacy.
In two months of assuming office and in the first interview with this reporter, Dhankhar, the Bengal governor raised issues of ‘religious discrimination’ as he was denied membership in Kolkata’s iconic La Martiniere’s board for being a ‘non-Christian’. In the interview, he said that the ‘provision’ in La Martiniere’s constitution directly contravenes the right to equality before the law as mentioned in the Indian Constitution.
That marked the beginning of the first fiery phase for Jagdeep Dhankhar. His assertive presence and actions unsettled and overwhelmed Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Until then, politicians and their governments had rarely encountered someone in a constitutional role who refused to act as a mere ‘rubber stamp’.
A lawyer by training, a politician by past association, who later transformed himself as a self-styled protector of constitutional propriety, Dhankhar’s stint in Bengal became one of the most contentious governorships in India’s federal history. However, no one could challenge or contest his claims as Dhankhar was always legally correct and constitutionally articulate.
Trinamool leaders often called him the ‘BJP’s shadow state president’ and Raj Bhavan as the ‘RSS headquarter’. In private, bureaucrats spoke of a Raj Bhavan where ministers were summoned like schoolchildren and officers were grilled over file notings.
Dhankhar, however, never paused. Trinamool’s public criticism, the confrontation, surveillance and cutting Raj Bhavan’s expenses – all actions by the ruling dispensation fell flat as Dhankhar was ‘unstoppable’.
A Raj Bhavan That Roared
Dhankhar arrived with political and legal credentials — former MP, ex-minister under the Chandra Shekhar government, and senior advocate in the Supreme Court. But in Bengal, it wasn’t his resume that made news. These were his public statements, his tweets and his unyielding confrontation with the chief minister.
He routinely fired off missives to the state government on everything from law-and-order breakdowns and alleged corruption in recruitment, to “contemptuous treatment” by ministers and ‘politicisation of Bengal’s educational institution’.
His social media handle turned into a parallel newsroom, offering near-daily commentary on the Mamata Banerjee government. By 2020, the chief minister had blocked him on X (then Twitter) — publicly accusing him of behaving like an “agent of the ruling party at the Centre.”
Behind the scenes, the acrimony ran deeper, so did his efforts to maintain a conversation relationship with Mamata Banerjee. Dhankhar’s decision to hold back assent to multiple state bills, particularly those relating to university appointments irked the TMC leadership, who viewed it as sabotage masked in constitutional concern. And in the meantime, they continued to meet during occasions, exchanging Rakhi greetings as Dhankhar called Banerjee as his ‘little sister’. That was truly a strange time.
His repeated visits to sites of political violence, especially in areas where BJP workers were killed, were seen as overt political posturing, while he maintained that it was his ‘duty’ as the head of state to be with the victims.
RSS, Reverence, And His Ideological Roots
If his actions raised eyebrows, his words left little doubt about his ideological proximity. Dhankhar never shied away from publicly praising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling it the “most nationalistic institution in the world.” For a man occupying the Vice-President’s chair, a constitutional post expected to remain aloof from political alignments, but he is never known to mince words.
Later, after being elevated to the position of Vice President, he continued to challenge the status quo with unwavering determination and conviction, earning both respect and resistance from political circles. Some of his statements about the RSS turned out to be political flash points.
Opposition parties moved a resolution in the Rajya Sabha in 2024 alleging breach of constitutional propriety. “He was not just crossing the Lakshman Rekha,” a TMC MP said, “he redrew it to suit Nagpur (RSS HQ).”
Many in the BJP, however, saw Dhankhar as a necessary corrector across situations – political, administrative and also in judiciary.
In private conversations, senior Sangh functionaries point to Dhankhar as an “ideologically astute person with legal precision”, someone who understands both power and its procedures.
Dhankhar’s cordial connections with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale were never unknown, as he always maintained the Sangh as his ‘roots’.
A Career of Reinventions
It was never the first time Dhankhar reinvented himself, nor as Governor, or as Vice President and neither as the Rajya Sabha chairperson. Once a Janata Dal MP from Jhunjhunu, he served as union MoS for parliamentary affairs in a short-lived government. He joined the Congress in the 1990s before finally aligning with the BJP in 2003. Colleagues recall him as erudite, persuasive and most importantly – ambitious.
That ambition was often at the heart of the criticism against him in Bengal. TMC ministers openly claimed that Dhankhar’s tenure as Governor was a prolonged audition for the national high office. His frequent clashes with Mamata Banerjee, his visits to violence-hit pockets, and his public commentaries on law and order mirrored the BJP’s line in Bengal. On one hand, he emerged as a people’s governor in the state, while on the other, he became Mamata Banerjee’s fiercest political adversary
Controversies, Critics, and a Calculated Exit
His name appeared in the old Jain hawala diary — something Mamata Banerjee raised on the floor of the Assembly long back. Then came accusations of nepotism, allegations that he had appointed relatives to Raj Bhavan posts. Dhankhar called it “personal malice cloaked in politics,” and the allegation did not have an ‘iota of truth’.
Yet, none of these controversies dented his upward arc. In 2022, the BJP chose him as their Vice-Presidential candidate. His credentials as a Jat leader from Rajasthan, and his consistent battles with Mamata, made him an ideal foil in a political landscape.
Jagdeep Dhankhar may no longer be in the Vice President enclave, but the tremors of his tenure shaped centre-state equations, centre-judiciary chemistry and upper-house – Opposition terms. He exposed a grey zone in constitutional architecture — where a Governor’s or Vice President’s discretion could be wielded like a political and constitutional blade. He turned procedural defiance into a spectacle, and constitutional commentary into prime-time content, that the country was witnessing for the first time.
Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa…Read More
Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered Naxa… Read More
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