CP Radhakrishnan Named NDA Candidate for Vice President Post

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 17, 2025: The BJP on Saturday announced Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as the NDA’s candidate for the post of Vice President, weeks after Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down. With the ruling alliance commanding a majority in Parliament, his election on September 9 appears almost certain.

BJP president JP Nadda, making the announcement after a meeting of the NDA parliamentary party, said Radhakrishnan brings four decades of political experience. “We hope the Vice President’s election will take place through consensus. We will also reach out to Opposition leaders for wider support,” he added.

Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, has served as Governor of Jharkhand, held additional charge of Puducherry, been a two-time MP from Coimbatore, and headed the party’s Tamil Nadu unit. A long-time RSS functionary, he is considered close to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and familiar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s working style.

With a combined strength of 422 MPs in both Houses against the required majority of 394, the NDA holds a clear edge.

Prime Minister Modi, in a post on X, praised Radhakrishnan’s grassroots work in Tamil Nadu. “In his long years in public life, Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji has distinguished himself with his dedication, humility and intellect. He has always focused on community service and empowering the marginalised,” the PM wrote.

Radhakrishnan’s nomination is seen as a significant political signal ahead of next year’s Tamil Nadu assembly elections, where the BJP has struggled to expand its base against the state’s dominant Dravidian parties, DMK and AIADMK.

Unlike his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, known for sharp confrontations with state governments and the Opposition, Radhakrishnan is regarded as a consensus-builder with experience in both politics and business.