Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as India’s 15th vice-president of India on Friday in a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to him at 10.10 am.
Radhakrishnan, 67, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu with deep roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), won the vice-presidential election by securing 452 votes. His opponent, Opposition INDIA bloc nominee and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, polled 300 votes.
Radhakrishnan's victory was expected, given the numerical strength of the BJP-led NDA, which had 427 MPs on paper and secured additional backing from the YSR Congress Party’s 11 MPs and several smaller parties, comfortably crossing the halfway mark of 377. There were also indications of cross-voting in his favour.
The election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on 21 July, citing health reasons. Following his win, Radhakrishnan resigned as governor of Maharashtra on Thursday. President Murmu has assigned Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat additional charge of Maharashtra until a new appointment is made.
Radhakrishnan, a two-time MP from Coimbatore and former BJP Tamil Nadu chief, has had a decades-long career that began in the Jana Sangh before transitioning to the BJP.
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