Village in Rajasthan celebrates as son of the soil Jagdeep Dhankhar becomes VP

JAIPUR: Kaithana village in Jhunjhunu district erupted in celebration on Saturday as the son of the soil and NDA-backed candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected the Vice-President of India.
For the 2,000 households of this village, dominated by the Dhankhar clan of Jats, the glory this time is bigger than the one that came three years ago. In 2019, when Jagdeep Dhankhar was named the Governor of West Bengal, the village had held a day-long celebration. The present one is likely to last longer.
“The mood for celebrations had set in the day he was named as the NDA candidate. Since that day, there have been streams of visitors from nearby areas to Choudhario-Ki-Haveli, our ancestral house, to meet our uncles who live there and express their best wishes,” said Yashpal Dhankhar, a distant relative who is part of the team planning a grand welcome for Jagdeep Dhankhar after he assumes the new office.
Born in a family of prosperous farmers in 1951, Jagdeep Dhankhar studied in the village school till class V before moving to Sainik School in Chittorgarh, where he completed his schooling. Instead of a career in the military, he pursued law at Rajasthan University. But destiny had something else in store for him. In 1989, he contested the Lok Sabha elections from Jhunjhunu on a Janata Dal ticket and won by a big margin. But his journey in electoral politics was short-lived as mid-term polls were announced in 1991.
He joined Congress to contest Ajmer Lok Sabha polls the same year but lost due to the wave wrought by the Ram Janambhoomi movement. Congress fielded him from Kishangarh for the state Assembly polls in 1993, which he won. His journey with BJP started in the run-up to the agitations demanding OBC status for Jats. He came close to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee while leading a reservation campaign.
“He became so close to the Vajpayee Sahab that he joined BJP in 2003. He maintained his proximity with senior BJP leaders in Delhi while practising law in the Supreme Court,” said Surendra Sharma, a local resident who is Dhankhar’s family priest. “Every adult and child in our village is celebrating today. People are singing and dancing. It is such an honour for all of us,” he added.
Dhankhar has lived in Jaipur, Delhi and now in Kolkata but has never missed a chance to visit his native village. His last visit there was in February this year when he attended the wedding of a close relative. “During his visits, he spends time with his uncles, cousins and children of the extended family. He never forgets to visit the farmland and guides his extended family members on new farming techniques,” said Randeep Dhankhar, his younger brother who lives in Jaipur. Celebrations are being held at his residence, too.
Randeep recalled that the lowest point of Jagdeep’s life was when his only son, Deepak Dhankhar, a student of Mayo College in Ajmer, died due to a brain haemorrhage in 1994. “Bhai Sahab was heartbroken and completely immersed in his practice to overcome the sorrow. He has not overcome that pain till today,” added Randeep.
Jagdeep Dhankhar also keeps helping his family and fellow villagers. “He constructed a farmland in the village and developed a library, a computer centre and a sewing centre for girls. A centre set up in his farmland also provides free training to youths of nearby villages,” said Sharma.
Known for his easy ways, villagers cherish memories of Jagdeep Dhankhar going out of the way to meet fellow villagers both at the Governor’s house in Kolkata and his residences in Jaipur and Delhi. His status has also helped the village in many ways.