National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee CP Radhakrishnan has been elected as Vice President of India, defeating INDIA bloc candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy in the election held on Tuesday.
Radhakrishnan secured 452 first preference votes, while Justice Reddy received 300. Fifteen votes were declared invalid. The Rajya Sabha General Secretary, PC Mody, announced the results after the counting. The elections witnessed a turnout of 98.20 per cent, with 767 MPs casting their vote out of 781. Thirteen MPs abstained, including seven from the Biju Janata Dal, four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, one from Shiromani Akali Dal and one independent MP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Radhakrishnan on his election. In a post on X, he 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.”
The Vice President’s office had been vacant since July 21, following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar due to health reasons.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, was serving as the Governor of Maharashtra since July 2024 before being named as the NDA’s Vice Presidential nominee. He earlier served as Governor of Jharkhand and held additional charge of Telangana and Puducherry.
A two-time MP from Coimbatore, he began his political journey with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Jana Sangh before joining the BJP. He went on to serve as BJP’s Tamil Nadu state president and later held several parliamentary positions, including Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
Between 2016 and 2020, he chaired the Coir Board under the Ministry of MSME, during which coir exports reached a record high. From 2020 to 2022, he was the BJP’s in-charge for Kerala.
Radhakrishnan holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. A sports enthusiast, he excelled in table tennis and took keen interest in cricket and volleyball. He has also represented India on several international delegations across Asia, Europe and North America.
While C.P. Radhakrishnan is the 15th individual to hold the office, he is counted as the 17th Vice President in terms of the position.
ANI
