Exit quiet and procedural, none saw it coming

The resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on 21 July, while appearing sudden, was likely the culmination of friction between him and the BJP-led government that had been simmering beneath the surface for some time.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

A closer, retrospective analysis of the past few months suggests a pattern that went largely unnoticed by both beat reporters and veteran political journalists—dismissed either as minor procedural anomalies or fleeting episodes rather than signals of a deeper divergence.

On 3 December last year, during an event in Mumbai, Dhankhar publicly questioned the government's stance on farmer issues while sharing the stage with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Turning to the minister, Dhankhar asked, "Agriculture Minister Sir...was any promise made to the farmers, and why has it not been fulfilled?" In a rare instance of a sitting Vice President openly addressing an ongoing policy concern, he went on to caution that "a nation that tests the patience of farmers will pay a heavy price."

Observers noted that in recent months, multiple behind-the-scenes developments indicated a growing divergence between Vice President Dhankhar and the government, with both appearing to view key issues through increasingly different lenses.