NDA pick CP Radhakrishnan elected new Vice-President of India

He will become the 15th Vice President of India.

Radhakrishnan has been elected to the post through the day-long polling that started at 10 am sharp with the first vote being cast by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament House.

Radhakrishnan defeated his opponent ex-Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, who was fielded by the INDIA bloc, by 152 votes, which is one of the lowest margins in the Vice-Presidential election.

While Radhakrishnan got 452 first preferential votes, Reddy secured 300 first preferential votes.

Fifteen out of the total 754 votes cast were declared invalid.

In 2022, Jagdeep Dhankhar had defeated Opposition's Margaret Alva's by the highest margin in the last six V-P elections. Dhankhar had received 528 votes as opposed to Alva's 182.

But the slim margin this time is much due to the change in the political dynamics post 2024 Lok Sabha elections as the Opposition has emerged as the strongest since the current regime took over in 2014.

The INDIA bloc has 234 MPs while Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) couldn't secure the majority (stopped at 240) in the last parliamentary elections.

Congratulating the V-P-elect, Prime Minister Modi wrote on X, "Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential election. His life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised. I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional values and enhance Parliamentary discourse."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had earlier dubbed the poll as an "ideological battle", congratulated Radhakrishnan and said, "Best wishes to Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan on securing victory in the Vice Presidential election.

"We extend our sincere gratitude to Shri B. Sudershan Reddy garu, the united Opposition’s joint candidate, for his spirited and principled fight. This was more than an election; it was a battle of ideology, reaffirming that governments with authoritarian tendencies must be checked to protect our Constitution and Democracy..."

The chatter over cross-voting has emerged as the NDA secured 14 votes higher than what it should have got ideally.

With YSRCP's support of 11 MPs, the NDA with its own 427 MPs would have got 438 votes in the best-case scenario.

The election was necessitated as Dhankhar announced a shock resignation on the inaugural day of the last monsoon session on July 21.

Though he cited health issues as the reason behind his resignation, several quarters of the Delhi political circle suspect something beyond that meets the eye.