New Delhi, September 9: CP Radhakrishnan, the candidate backed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India. Radhakrishnan triumphed over the INDIA alliance's nominee, Justice B Sudershan Reddy, by a margin of 152 votes in a closely contested election held on Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The election saw a high voter turnout of 98.20%, with 767 Members of Parliament (MPs) casting their votes out of a total of 788. Radhakrishnan secured 452 first-preference votes, while Justice Reddy garnered 300. Additionally, 15 votes were deemed invalid.
Rajya Sabha General Secretary PC Mody confirmed the results, stating, "NDA's nominee and Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan received 452 first-preference votes and has been elected as the Vice President of India. The opposition candidate, Justice Sudershan Reddy, received 300 first-preference votes."
Thirteen MPs abstained from voting, including seven from the Biju Janata Dal, four from Bharat Rashtra Samithi, one from the Shiromani Akali Dal, and one independent MP.
Prominent leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, participated in the voting process.
The Vice President's post had been vacant since July 21, 2025, following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar due to health reasons. CP Radhakrishnan, also known as Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, was appointed as the NDA's nominee after serving as the 24th Governor of Maharashtra from July 31, 2024. Prior to that, he had held the position of Governor of Jharkhand and additional charges as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
Born on October 20, 1957, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan is a two-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Coimbatore. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his early years and later became a member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor to the BJP, in 1974. In 1996, he was appointed BJP's Tamil Nadu Secretary and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore in both 1998 and 1999.
During his tenure as MP, Radhakrishnan held various important positions, including Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and member of the Consultative Committee for Finance. He also participated in the Parliamentary Special Committee investigating the Stock Exchange Scam.
Between 2004 and 2007, he served as the President of the Tamil Nadu BJP and led a 19,000 km 'Rath Yatra' that spanned 93 days, highlighting key issues like river interlinking, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, combating untouchability, and addressing the drug menace.
From 2016 to 2020, Radhakrishnan was the Chairman of the Coir Board, where he played a pivotal role in boosting India’s coir exports, reaching an all-time high of ₹2532 crores. He also served as the All India In-Charge for BJP in Kerala from 2020 to 2022.dhakrishnan's election to the Vice President's office marks a significant milestone in his distinguished career of public service and political leadership.
