NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan elected 15th Vice-President of India

New Delhi: NDA nominee and Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan clinched the Vice Presidential election, securing 452 votes, while his rival, retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, polled 300.

The election followed the abrupt resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. Once sworn in, Radhakrishnan will become India’s 15th Vice President.

Out of 754 votes cast, 15 were deemed invalid. Declared Returning Officer PV Modi said Mr Radhakrishnan received 452 first-preference ballots, and Justice Reddy bagged 300 valid votes.

Overall, 767 MPs exercised their franchise, marking a 98.2% turnout. Of these, 752 were valid, while 15 were rejected. A single postal ballot stood cancelled as the MP refused to vote.

Who is Radhakrishnan:

Born in Tiruppur, Radhakrishnan holds a bachelor’s in business administration. He began with BJP’s ideological fountainhead RSS, rising in Tamil Nadu where BJP struggled politically.

He later switched full-time into electoral politics, winning Lok Sabha twice under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. At that time, BJP’s Hindutva line clashed with entrenched Dravidian politics.

Seen as an experienced, honest leader fit to head Rajya Sabha as Chairman, he belongs to the Gounder-Kongu Vellalar OBC community.

The NDA bloc holds 425 MPs and secured YSRCP’s 11 MPs, raising its strength to 436. INDIA alliance enjoys support of 324 MPs.

Modi congratulates:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him on X, calling Radhakrishnan “outstanding” and confident he will uphold constitutional values.

"Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential polls. His life-long dedication to serving people, uplifting poor and marginalised stands exemplary. I am confident he will be an outstanding VP who strengthens constitutional values and parliamentary discourse," wrote Modi.