New Delhi, Sept 12: Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, a veteran political leader with decades of public service, was sworn in on Friday as the 15th Vice President of India. The oath of office was administered by President Droupadi Murmu in a solemn ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, attended by the country’s top leadership.
At the age of 67, Radhakrishnan took the oath in English, invoking the name of God, while dressed in a traditional red kurta, symbolizing both simplicity and cultural identity. His elevation comes just days after he secured victory in the vice-presidential election, defeating joint opposition nominee and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy by a margin of 152 votes.
The election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21, citing health reasons. Dhankhar, making his first public appearance since stepping down, was among the dignitaries present at the event, a moment that drew considerable attention from attendees.
The ceremony witnessed the presence of prominent national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and BJP President J. P. Nadda. Former Vice Presidents Hamid Ansari and M. Venkaiah Naidu also joined the gathering, lending the event a sense of continuity and institutional gravity.
Radhakrishnan’s swearing-in marks the beginning of his tenure as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, a position central to parliamentary proceedings and legislative functioning. His victory, which was seen as a foregone conclusion given the NDA’s numerical strength in Parliament, nevertheless carried an added edge due to reported cross-voting from the opposition ranks, widening his margin of triumph.