Maharashtra Governor and NDA candidate Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was on Tuesday elected the 15th Vice President of India. He comfortably defeated his rival INDIA bloc candidate B Sudershan Reddy. Radhakrishnan polled 452 of the total 767 votes, while Reddy managed 300.
Seen as a soft-spoken and non-confrontational leader, the 67-year-old Radhakrishnan succeeds Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned as vice president on July 21, taking everyone by surprise. He is the third leader from Tamil Nadu to occupy the coveted post.
Described as a 'Pachai Tamizhan' (true-blue Tamil) by well-wishers, Radhakrishnan was serving as the Governor of Maharashtra when he was named as the vice presidential nominee of the BJP-led NDA.
Congratulating Radhakrishnan on winning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that he will be an outstanding Vice President. Modi said on X that Radhakrishnan's life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised.
The Prime Minister said, "Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential election. His life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised. I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional values and enhance Parliamentary discourse."
A total of 767 MPs cast their ballot in a turnout of 98.2 per cent, of which 752 were valid and 15 votes were deemed invalid, Mody said. One postal ballot was cancelled as the MP declined to cast the vote.
Of the 781 electors, 14 MPs have declared abstention from voting while 767 cast their vote. Fifteen votes were declared invalid. The Opposition had pitched the contest as a battle between Constitution and RSS-BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to cast his vote, followed by Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, and others.
Opposition leaders, including Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also exercised their franchise.
The election came 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post of Vice President, triggering a high-stakes contest between the ruling alliance and the opposition bloc.
Also read: PM Modi casts first vote in Vice President elections
Following his defeat, INDIA Bloc candidate B Sudershan Reddy extended warm wishes to NDA's Radhakrishnan after he was elected the 15th Vice President of India.
In a statement following the Vice-Presidential election result, Reddy said that he will continue his ideological battle with even "greater vigour" despite the result not being in his favour.
Soon after Radhakrishnan won the Vice-Presidential polls, the Congress said the Opposition stood united for the election with a "most respectable" performance and claimed that the BJP's arithmetical victory is both "moral and political defeat".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge extended best wishes to Radhakrishnan on securing victory in the election, while also expressing sincere gratitude to Sudershan Reddy for being the "united Opposition’s joint candidate" and for his spirited and principled fight.
"This was more than an election; it was a battle of ideology, reaffirming that governments with authoritarian tendencies must be checked to protect our Constitution and democracy," Kharge said on X.
"We hope the new Vice President-elect will uphold the highest ethos of Parliamentary traditions, ensuring equal space and dignity for the Opposition, and not succumb to pressures of the ruling dispensation," the Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh asserted that the Opposition stood united for the vice-presidential election.
"The BJP's arithmetical victory is really both a moral and political defeat. The ideological battle continues undiminished," Ramesh said.
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