Days Before Resignation, VP Dhankhar Hinted At Full Term, But With A Caveat

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The remark, largely overlooked at the time, has gained renewed attention following his sudden departure from office.
Just ten days before his unexpected resignation, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had expressed confidence in serving his full term until August 2027, but with a caveat. According to a report by NDTV, Dhankhar remarked while speaking at an event at Jawaharlal Nehru University on July 10.
'I will retire at the right time, August 2027," Dhankhar stated during his address, before qualifying the comment with, 'subject to divine intervention."
The remark, largely overlooked at the time, has gained renewed attention following his sudden departure from office.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post on Monday evening, citing medical reasons, triggering speculation in political circles.
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," he said in the letter to the President.
Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022 and 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.
He had recently undergone angioplasty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi and was admitted to the hospital for a few days in March this year. He appeared not so well at a few events, but has been mostly seen as lively and energetic in his most public appearances, including in Parliament.
In his eventful tenure as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has had several run-ins with the Opposition, which had also moved a motion to impeach him. The motion to remove him, the first time in independent India to remove a sitting Vice President, was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.
He is the third Vice President of India after V V Giri and R Venkataraman to resign during tenure. Giri and Venkataraman had resigned from the post of Vice President to contest the presidential election.
There was no official word from anyone in the government or the ruling BJP on why Dhankhar resigned or who could be his successor.
According to rules, elections have to be held 'as soon as possible" to fill the post of vice president. However, the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman can take over the House proceedings till the time a new vice president is elected.
Dhankhar was the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's candidate in the election for Vice President, who is the ex-officio Chair of the Rajya Sabha, in 2022.
His resignation triggered speculation with the Congress expressing surprise, saying it is 'totally unexpected" and there is 'far more to it than meets the eye".
'The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
His abrupt resignation follows a day of surprising development in the Rajya Sabha for the government, as an Opposition-sponsored notice for a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma was submitted to him and he mentioned the same in the House and asked the secretary general to take further necessary steps.
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