Radhakrishnan, the former Maharashtra Governor, becomes India’s 15th Vice President, filling the vacancy left by Jagdeep Dhankhar. Voter turnout was high at 98.20%. Thirteen MPs abstained from voting.
New Delhi [India]: Opposition’s Vice-Presidential candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy gracefully accepted his defeat in the election, expressing faith in India’s democratic traditions while vowing to continue the “ideological battle” with renewed determination. Congratulating Vice President-elect CP Radhakrishnan, Reddy said the larger cause championed by the Opposition “remains undiminished.” He added, “Today, the MPs have rendered their verdict in the election for the office of the Vice President of India. I humbly accept this outcome with an abiding faith in the democratic processes of our great Republic,”
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CP Radhakrishnan Becomes India’s 15th Vice President
National Democratic Alliance-backed CP Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President. He defeated Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential elections held between 10 am and 5 pm on Tuesday, September 9. A total of 98.20 per cent voter turnout was found in the Vice Presidential elections, wherein 767 MPs cast their vote out of 788.
NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan received 452 first preference votes whereas the INDIA bloc candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy received 300 first preference votes. Fifteen votes were considered invalid.
“NDA nominee and Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan got 452 first preference votes. He has been elected as the Vice President of India… Opposition’s vice-presidential candidate Justice Sudershan Reddy secured 300 first preference votes,” Rajya Sabha general secretary PC Mody said in his press conference. A total of 13 MPs abstained from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. The list includes seven MPs from Biju Janata Dal, four from Bharath Rashtra Samithi, one MP from Shiromani Akali Dal and one independent MP. Earlier today, top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and others, cast their vote in the Vice Presidential elections.
The Vice President’s seat has been vacant since July 21, 2025, as Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his position, citing health reasons. Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, who was serving as the 24th Governor of Maharashtra from July 31, 2024, before being announced as NDA’s Vice Presidential nominee. He previously served as the Governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024. He also held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry between March and July 2024.
Radhakrishnan had earlier also served as the Governor of Jharkhand, Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Radhakrishnan, who served as the two-time MP from Coimbatore, was born on October 20, 1957, in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur.
The BJP stalwart from Tamil Nadu has achieved a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and became the state committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the BJP’s precursor, in 1974. Before the Jan Sangh, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In the year 1996, Radhakrishnan was appointed as the BJP Tamil Nadu secretary, following which he was elected as a Lok Sabha member from Coimbatore in 1998 and re-elected again in 1999.
During his tenure as MP, he served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the Consultative Committee for Finance. Radhakrishnan was also a member of the Parliamentary Special Committee investigating the Stock Exchange Scam. From 2004 to 2007, Radhakrishnan served as the Tamil Nadu state president and also led a 19000 km ‘Rath Yatra’ which lasted for 93 days.
The main agenda of the Rath Yatra was to highlight his demands for the linking of all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, removing untouchability and combating the menace of narcotic drugs. Radhakrishnan was appointed as the Chairman of the Coir Board, Kochi, which comes under the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, from 2016 to 2020, and held the position for four years. During his tenure, coir exports from India reached an all-time high of Rs 2532 crores. He was also the All India in Charge of the BJP for Kerala from 2020 to 2022.
Besides politics, Radhakrishnan was a college champion in table tennis and had combined interests in cricket and volleyball. Radhakrishnan has also visited many foreign countries, including the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Egypt, the UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Japan.
(with inputs from ANI)