NEW DELHI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Jagdeep Dhankhar, former governor of India's eastern state of West Bengal, was sworn in on Thursday as the 14th Vice President of India.
His swearing-in ceremony was attended by top dignitaries including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet ministers.
Dhankhar, 71, was nominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and was elected to the office last week, defeating opposition candidate Margaret Alva.
While Dhankhar received 528 votes, or 74 percent of the total valid votes, Alva got 182 votes.
The vice president of India is the second highest constitutional office in the country, who is also the ex-officio chairperson of Rajya Sabha or the upper house of the Indian parliament.
Hailing from India's western state of Rajasthan, Dhankhar has a bachelor's degree in law. In 1990, he was designated as Senior Advocate by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan.
Dhankhar became the state governor of West Bengal in 2019 and resigned from the post in July 2022 after being nominated as a vice presidential candidate.
Dhankhar succeeded Venkaiah Naidu, whose term ended on Aug. 10. ■