Mixed reaction from Bengal parties to Governor Dhankhar's candidature as vice prez

Kolkata, July 16: Political parties in West Bengal on Saturday issued mixed reactions over BJP naming Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its candidate for the Vice Presidential election.

While ruling TMC said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will articulate the party's stand during a meeting with MPs on July 21 over vice presidential election, Opposition BJP said Dhankhar was given due recognition as he has deep knowledge on constitutional matters, and hoped that TMC will support him as it was a matter of pride for the state.

Congress alleged that Dhankhar's candidature was not surprising as he was "close to BJP", while CPI(M) hinted at a "secret understanding" between TMC and the saffron party, saying the announcement of Dhankhar's candidature came barely a few days after Banerjee and the governor, along with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, held a "courtesy meeting" at Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling.

BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh said, "Dhankhar was people's governor who fought for democratic rights of the people of the state. He would always rush to the side of victims of political violence and never buckled under the TMC's attacks. We hope TMC will support him in the vice presidential election as it is a matter of pride for West Bengal."

Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said the PM has given due recognition to Dhankhar for his deep knowledge of constitutional matters, and asserted that whoever becomes the next governor will also not sit idle if the state government violates democratic principles.

TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the party will not make any official comment immediately. "Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee has already called for a meeting with MPs on July 21 on the vice presidential election. She will voice the party’s stand in that meeting," he said.

Congress state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged Dhankhar was nominated as he was very close to the BJP and had an active stint in Raj Bhavan since July 2019, and was "always in the news". "He was very close to the BJP. He was in West Bengal for the last three years and had become a familiar name.

The decision is not surprising but the state's media might be deprived of its daily dose of news as Dhankhar ji regularly tweeted and voiced his views," he said. Chowdhury, however, also described Dhankhar as a highly educated person and an esteemed lawyer. He said Congress will make its stand on the vice presidential election public when time comes.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty hinted at a "secret understanding" between TMC and BJP over Dhankhar's candidature. "This development did not catch us unawares. We clearly remember the 'courtesy meeting' between Banerjee and Dhankhar, along with Sarma, in Darjeeling a few days ago.

He could not have gotten a more rewarding post for serving the cause of one party during his stint in the Raj Bhavan," the CPI(M) central committee member said. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, however, said he personally believed that Dhankhar was nominated because of his knowledge of law and the Constitution so that he could assist the president.

BJP on Saturday named Dhankhar, a Jat leader from Rajasthan with socialist background, as the ruling National Democratic Alliance's vice presidential candidate. Making the announcement, BJP president J P Nadda lauded Dhankhar as a "kisan-putra" (son of farmer) who, he said, established himself as a "people's governor".

Dhankhar's election as vice president is almost a certainty as BJP has a majority in the electoral college comprising members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Out of Parliament's current strength of 780, the BJP alone has 394 MPs, more than the majority mark of 390.

The BJP parliamentary board in a meeting, attended by Modi and other senior leaders, picked 71-year-old Dhankhar after deliberating over several names, Nadda said. Dhankhar has been in the limelight since becoming governor of West Bengal in July 2019 over frequent run-ins with the Mamata Banerjee government.