Meet CP Radhakrishnan, 15th Vice President of India

CP Radhakrishnan is the 15th Vice President of India. The National Democratic Alliance won the elections on Tuesday, September 9, defeating INDIA bloc candidate Justice (retd) B Sudershan Reddy. The former Tamil Nadu BJP president got 452 first preference votes against Reddy, who received 300 first preference votes.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 767 votes were cast, of which 752 were found valid and 15 invalid. The quota to choose the winner was set at 377.

The elections were called after Deputy Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar suddenly resigned on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, citing health reasons.

Who is CP Radhakrishnan?
Born on October 20, 1957 in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan started his journey as a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He won the Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat in 1998 and 1999, by considerable margins. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from VO Chidambaram College, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

He started actively participating in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and RSS when he was just 17 years old. His long political career began in 1974, when he was elected to the state executive committee of Jan Sangh, marking his formal political debut.

CP Radhakrishnan was the state BJP president, chaired the Coir Board and held important parliamentary posts, such as chairman of the Standing Committee on Textiles.

He is also known for his organizational work and led a 93-day ‘Ratha Yatra’ across Tamil Nadu before becoming BJP in-charge in Kerala. Radhakrishnan also served as state president of BJP, Tamil Nadu, from 2004 to 2007.

Radhakrishnan served as Governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024. From March to July 2024, he served as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

On 31 July 2024, Radhakrishnan took charge as Governor of Maharashtra. With nearly four decades in politics, he is considered an experienced leader of the deep-rooted BJP in Tamil Nadu.