CP Radhakrishnan will take the oath of office today as India’s 15th Vice President, administered by President Droupadi Murmu during a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 AM on Thursday, September 12. The 67-year-old, previously the Governor of Maharashtra, was the NDA’s candidate and won against the joint opposition’s nominee, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, by a margin of 152 votes, receiving 452 votes in total. Reddy garnered 300 votes, amidst reports of some cross-voting favoring Radhakrishnan. This election followed the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the position on July 21 for health reasons.
Radhakrishnan, a seasoned politician from Tamil Nadu, has been affiliated with the RSS since his youth and has had a long political career, starting as a Jana Sangh leader and evolving into a senior BJP figure. Given the NDA’s majority in Parliament, his election was anticipated. The BJP-led alliance had a support base of 427 MPs along with the backing of 11 YSRCP MPs and additional smaller parties, surpassing the necessary threshold of 377 votes. Following his election as the 15th Vice President of India, Radhakrishnan resigned as the Governor of Maharashtra. Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat will temporarily assume his duties until further notice, as stated in an official announcement from Rashtrapati Bhavan.