CP Radhakrishnan elected 15th Vice President of India, secures comfortable majority

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India, securing a decisive victory with 452 votes in the Parliament election held on Tuesday. He defeated former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, the opposition INDIA bloc candidate, who managed 300 votes.

The election was necessitated following the resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 due to health reasons. Radhakrishnan, the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) nominee, entered the contest with a clear numerical edge, backed by 427 Members of Parliament (MPs), well above the majority mark of 391.

Justice Reddy, backed by 354 MPs from the opposition bloc, was expected to secure 293 votes in the Lok Sabha and 134 in the Rajya Sabha, but fell short.

The polling process was conducted between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. in New Delhi, followed by counting. Thirteen MPs refrained from voting, 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 member. While BJD had announced its abstention, BRS remained absent, and SAD expressed dissatisfaction with both the Centre and the Punjab government.

Prominent leaders from both ruling and opposition camps participated in the voting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President JP Nadda, and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju cast their votes early in the day. On the opposition side, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also exercised their franchise.

Reacting to the results, Congress MP Tanuj Punia described the contest as a “battle of ideologies,” accusing the ruling alliance of attempting to use constitutional institutions for political ends. He asserted that the opposition candidate represented the true spirit of the Constitution.

With his victory, CP Radhakrishnan will assume office as the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and serve as its ex-officio Chairperson, ensuring continuity in the functioning of the Upper House of Parliament.

Currently, the strength of Parliament stands at 781 members, including 239 in the Rajya Sabha (with five vacancies) and 542 in the Lok Sabha (with one vacancy). Both alliances had conducted practice polls ahead of the election to avoid errors in voting.