The BRICS TimesThe ruling NDA alliance had chosen Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, an OBC leader from the Goundar-Kongu Vellalar community, as its official candidate on August 17.
NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India after defeating opposition nominee B Sudershan Reddy.
The results were announced soon after voting ended in the Vice Presidential elections. Radhakrishnan, backed by the NDA, secured 452 votes, while Sudershan Reddy received 300.
At 67, Radhakrishnan, who had been serving as Maharashtra’s Governor, now becomes the third leader from Tamil Nadu to hold the country’s second-highest constitutional office.
Returning Officer PC Mody officially declared CP Radhakrishnan as the winner and confirmed that the results would be sent to the Election Commission.
The NDA alliance had earlier nominated CP Radhakrishnan, belonging to the Goundar-Kongu Vellalar OBC community, as its Vice Presidential candidate on August 17. He went up against former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy, also from southern India.
Voting for the Vice Presidential polls began at 10 am and continued till 5 pm, with members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha forming the electoral college.
According to the Congress, 315 opposition MPs participated in the voting. The electoral college consisted of 781 members from both Houses of Parliament.
Radhakrishnan, a two-time MP from Coimbatore, has been a long-time BJP leader. During Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, he was considered for a Union ministerial role but missed out to fellow Tamil leader Pon Radhakrishnan in 1998 due to confusion over their similar names.
Beginning his political journey with the RSS, CP Radhakrishnan rose steadily through the organisation and later in the BJP, establishing his acceptance within the party and Tamil Nadu’s political landscape.
