Thiruvananthapuram, 25 July(HS): Was there a divine intervention which led to the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice-President of India? This is the question being asked by many devotees of Lord Krishna, and their doubt is not without reason.

On the morning of July 7th, the vice-president and his spouse, Sudesh, took off from Kochi Airport to pay their obeisance at the famous Lord Krishna Temple at Guruvayur. Although there was no warning of rainfall for the day, the entourage of Jagdeep Dhankar was unable to land at the helipad in Guruvayur. The inclement weather botched up his plans to have a morning darshan of the presiding deity. The helicopter returned to Kochi without landing at Guruvayur but the damage has been done.

Many marriages and offerings scheduled earlier by the devotees had to be restricted in view of the VIP visit. The entire traffic around Guruvayur town too came to a standstill to make way for Dhankhar’s cavalcade to sail through the alleys leading to the temple. “This was something unprecedented in the temple’s recent history. No VIPs who came here had gone back without getting a darshan. Equally intriguing is that the heavy downpour that lashed across the township, too was unexpected,” said Ezhuvappadi Sreekumar, a resident at Guruvayur whose day begins and ends with prayers in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Though the vice-president returned to the temple around 12.45 PM and got a chance to worship the Lord, his schedule to the temple had put thousands of devotees into inconvenience,

What adds to Dhankar’s political journey is the fact that he is a party hopper, having served many outfits like Janata Dal, the Indian National Congress before reaching the BJP. He was a member of the Lok Sabha from Jhunjhunu constituency during 1989-1991 as a representative of the Janata Dal.

Dhankhar was a Union Minister of State for parliamentary affairs in the Chandrasekhar-led government and had no qualms in stating that his mission was to preserve secularism and keep the country safe from the evil eyes of communalists.

Though he contested the Lok Sabha polls in 1991 and 1998 as a Congress nominee, the electorate did not like seeing him shifting to New Delhi, and they ensured that he remained in Rajasthan. He was elected as a member of the legislative assembly in 1993 and continued to be a member of the House till 1998.

Though he tried his luck again in the Lok Sabha polls in 1998, the voters in the Jhunjhunu constituency tied him down there itself, and he finished a poor third.

By 1998, he had had enough of Congress and he cast his lot with the BJP in 2003. Though the BJP was away from the corridor of power, Dhankhar was confident of the party making a turn around and he remained committed to the party. The Governorship of West Bengal and the post of Vice-President were honours that came his way for the selfless service rendered by him.

Despite all these, the 7th July incident at Guruvayur has come haunting him. Whether Lord Krishna has offered him an alternative route will become clear in the coming weeks.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti