New Delhi: CP Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India on Friday at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The oath of office was administered by President Droupadi Murmu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Nitin Gadkari, and other dignitaries, attended the ceremony.
According to an NDA source, September 12 was chosen for the event as the morning was deemed “auspicious” by pandits. Several political leaders also arrived in Delhi to participate, including Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee, was elected Vice President on Tuesday with 452 votes, defeating Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, who received 300 votes. A veteran BJP leader, Radhakrishnan previously served as the Governor of Maharashtra and Jharkhand (February 2023–July 2024), and held additional charges as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry between March and July 2024. He has also been elected twice to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore and served as Tamil Nadu BJP State President.
According to Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer PC Mody, 767 of 781 MPs voted, marking a 98.2% turnout. Of these, 752 ballots were valid while 15 were invalid, setting the required majority of first-preference votes at 377.
Although the NDA had the support of 427 MPs, 11 YSRCP lawmakers also backed Radhakrishnan, giving him 14 more votes than expected, hinting at possible cross-voting from the Opposition. Thirteen MPs abstained, including seven from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and one Independent.
