NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Maharashtra Governor and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee C. P. Radhakrishnan was on Tuesday elected as the 15th Vice President of India, securing a decisive victory over the Opposition’s joint candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy. Radhakrishnan polled 452 votes, defeating Reddy who managed 300 votes, with the outcome highlighting indications of cross-voting in favour of the NDA candidate.
Announcing the results, Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer P. C. Mody said that of the 781 Members of Parliament eligible to vote, 767 exercised their franchise, marking a high turnout of 98.2 per cent. Of these, 752 votes were declared valid while 15 were invalid, bringing the required majority of first preference votes down to 377. “I declare C. P. Radhakrishnan elected to the post of Vice President of India, and the results will be communicated to the Election Commission,” Mody said.
The victory, though expected given the NDA’s numerical advantage in Parliament, was notable for its margin. With the NDA commanding 427 MPs on paper and additional backing from the YSR Congress Party’s 11 MPs as well as support from some smaller parties, Radhakrishnan’s tally exceeded projections. BJP leaders claimed that at least 15 Opposition MPs voted in favour of the NDA nominee, while others may have deliberately cast invalid ballots. BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal went further, asserting that “nearly 40 opposition MPs” had “listened to their conscience” and either voted directly for Radhakrishnan or indirectly aided his win, a pointed rebuttal to Opposition appeals for conscience voting in favour of Reddy.
For the Opposition, the margin of defeat came as a setback. Leaders had earlier expressed confidence that their 315 MPs had remained united behind Reddy. However, the results suggest otherwise, with BJP claiming that the NDA candidate’s victory reflected wider acceptance across party lines.
Following the announcement, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended their congratulations to Radhakrishnan. “His decades of rich experience in public life will contribute significantly to the nation’s progress, strengthen constitutional values, and enhance parliamentary discourse,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X. Modi also met the Vice President-elect at Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s residence, where he was felicitated by several Union Ministers including BJP President J. P. Nadda.
Radhakrishnan, 67, a veteran politician from Tamil Nadu with a long background in the RSS, Jana Sangh, and BJP, expressed gratitude for the trust placed in him. “I thank President Murmu Ji and Prime Minister Modi Ji for their blessings and best wishes. It is an honour to serve the nation in this role,” he said, shortly after the results were declared.