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New Delhi, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced Maharashtra Governor and veteran Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary CP Radhakrishnan as the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the post of Vice-President of India.
BJP president JP Nadda announced after the party’s Parliamentary Board cleared the name. “We will also reach out to the Opposition to seek their support so that the Vice-President’s election can be unanimous,” Nadda said, adding that senior BJP leaders had been in touch with the INDIA bloc parties earlier as well.
A Tamil Nadu Signal
The nomination of a Tamil Nadu-born leader to the country’s second-highest constitutional office is being viewed as a political signal aimed at the southern state, where the BJP has long struggled to expand its footprint. It could also put the ruling DMK, a key Indian bloc constituent, in a tight spot as the Opposition alliance had earlier discussed fielding a consensus non-political nominee.
Long Political Journey
Sixty-eight-year-old Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, born in Tiruppur, began his political life as an RSS swayamsevak before joining the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974. Over the decades, he rose through the BJP’s organisational ranks, becoming the party’s Tamil Nadu secretary in 1996 and later serving as state president from 2004 to 2007.
He entered Parliament in 1998 from Coimbatore, retaining the seat in 1999. During his tenure in the Lok Sabha, he chaired the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Textiles and served on key committees dealing with finance, PSUs, and the stock exchange scam. In 2004, he addressed the UN General Assembly as part of India’s parliamentary delegation.
Radhakrishnan is also remembered for his mass outreach initiatives in Tamil Nadu, including a 19,000 km Ratha Yatra in 2004 that lasted 93 days, pressing for causes such as interlinking of rivers, a uniform civil code, and eradication of terrorism and untouchability.
Governor’s Stints
Appointed Governor of Jharkhand in 2023, Radhakrishnan also held additional charge of Telangana and served as Lt. Governor of Puducherry. In July 2024, he was sworn in as the Governor of Maharashtra.
With over four decades of political and organisational experience, Radhakrishnan is seen as a respected name in Tamil Nadu’s polity and public life. His elevation as the NDA’s Vice-Presidential nominee is being positioned both as recognition of his long service and as a strategic outreach to the South.
