Radhakrishnan, aged 68 and a former Governor of Maharashtra, has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India. He defeated the joint Opposition candidate, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, by a margin of 152 votes.
The NDA entered the contest with the backing of 427 Members of Parliament, while 11 MPs from the YSR Congress Party also extended support to Radhakrishnan. This gave him 14 votes more than anticipated and sparked speculation about possible cross-voting within the Opposition, according to reports from ANI.
A total of 13 MPs chose not to participate in the election. This group included seven members of the Biju Janata Dal, four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, one representative of the Shiromani Akali Dal, and one Independent candidate.
The election was held after the sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. Following his victory, Radhakrishnan stepped down as Governor of Maharashtra. President Droupadi Murmu has handed over additional responsibility for the state to Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat until further notice, as per an official release.
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, several senior political figures reached New Delhi to mark the occasion. Among those present were Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Radhakrishnan’s political journey began in Tamil Nadu, where he was appointed as BJP secretary in 1996. He went on to secure a seat in the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore in 1998 and retained it again in 1999.