Vice Presidential race: NDA fields Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on August 17 named Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the post of Vice President of India, weeks after Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down. The election is slated for September 9, with August 22 as the last date for filing nominations.

BJP president and Union Minister JP Nadda announced Radhakrishnan’s candidature at a press conference in Delhi.

“We will talk to the opposition as well. We should also get their support so that together we can ensure an unopposed election for the post of Vice President. As we said earlier, we have been in touch with them, and our senior leaders have contacted them earlier as well and even now, we will remain in touch with them, and all our NDA colleagues have supported us. CP Radhakrishnan is our NDA’s candidate for Vice President,” Nadda said.

The BJP parliamentary board met earlier in the day to finalise the name, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other senior leaders in attendance.

Who is CP Radhakrishnan

• Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the Governor of Maharashtra on July 31, 2024.
• Prior to that, he served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly 18 months.
• Born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
• A long-time member of the RSS, he was part of the State Executive Committee of the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974.

The Election Commission has confirmed that nominations will close on August 21 and scrutiny will take place the next day. Voting for the Vice Presidential election is scheduled for September 9.