Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar tendered his resignation on Monday, citing health concerns and the need to prioritise medical advice.

In a letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, Dhankhar announced his resignation with immediate effect under Article 67(a) of the Constitution.

“To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately,” he wrote, extending gratitude to the President, Prime Minister and Members of Parliament for their support during his tenure.

The 73-year-old leader expressed satisfaction at having witnessed and contributed to what he described as India’s “remarkable economic progress and unprecedented exponential development” during his term.

“Serving in this transformative era of our nation’s history has been a true honour,” he added.

Congress expressed surprise at the sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, 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. I was with him alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 pm today and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 pm," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

"No doubt Mr Dhankar has to give topmost priority to his health. But clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye. This is not the time for speculation though. Mr Dhankar took both the government and the opposition to task in equal measure. He had fixed a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee tomorrow at 1 PM. He was also to make some major announcements related to the judiciary tomorrow," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram noted that Dhankhar has resigned citing "medical reasons", and wished him good health and a long life.

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar said the development is quite unexpected and "we don't know what the reasons are".

"I don't think that the president of India will accept it. This might be an initial reaction from his side. He might be dissatisfied with some developments," Kumar said.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal hailed Dhankar as a patriot and said since he had cited health reasons for his decision, it should be accepted and one should move forward.

"We have to accept that and move forward. Personally, I did not feel nice and I had very good ties with him. There was no ill feeling. He used to speak his mind and not keep things in his heart. Though our ideologies did not match, he never used to keep things in his heart. When I wanted to have more time to speak in the Rajya Sabha, he used to give me more time," Sibal told reporters.

"These were his good points. He is a nationalist and patriot. He wanted the opposition and the government to work together to enhance India's standing in the world," Sibal, who is a senior advocate, said.

AIMIM leader Waris Pathan said, "I saw that the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar has submitted his resignation. He wrote to the president of India. He gave medical reasons for this. We can only pray that his health improves quickly."

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey said, "The news of the vice president resigning due to health reasons is concerning. We sincerely pray for his well-being. However, a question arises, today marked the first day of the Monsoon session, and his resignation on the same day raises eyebrows."

"What is going on in this government? This decision came without proper consultation or discussion. If health was the concern, the resignation could have been submitted a few days before the session or even after," he said.

A first-generation professional from an agrarian background, Dhankhar was born on 18 May 1951 in Kithana village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district.

Walking over five kilometres each day to attend school, he went on to study Physics at Maharaja’s College, Jaipur, before earning a law degree from the University of Rajasthan. He was designated a Senior Advocate in 1990, after enrolling with the Bar in 1979.

Dhankhar entered politics with the Janata Dal and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989. He served as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar government (1990–91), and later became an MLA in Rajasthan. In 2003, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He was appointed Governor of West Bengal in 2019, a tenure marked by frequent run-ins with the Mamata Banerjee government.

Dhankhar stepped down in July 2022 upon his nomination as the National Democratic Alliance’s Vice Presidential candidate, and went on to win the August 6 election with 528 votes out of 710—one of the highest margins recorded since 1997.