The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has named CP Radakrishnan, the current Governor of Maharashtra, as its candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election scheduled for September 9. The decision was finalized during a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Parliamentary Board, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday.
BJP President JP Nadda announced that the nomination of the 68-year-old Radhakrishnan was the result of thorough consultations with NDA allies. “We held extensive discussions with our partners, and senior BJP leaders also reached out to Opposition parties to seek their support for our candidate,” Nadda told reporters. He expressed optimism about achieving a consensus, stating, “The Opposition indicated their support would depend on the candidate. We are confident that the Vice President will be elected unanimously.”
Radhakrishnan, a seasoned politician, previously served as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2023 to 2024 and held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana. He also served as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. A two-time Lok Sabha MP from Coimbatore, Radhakrishnan has a strong political background, having formerly led the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit.
According to sources, the 11-member Parliamentary Board, which convened at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, deliberated extensively on several shortlisted candidates before finalizing Radhakrishnan’s nomination. The board comprises prominent leaders, including JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, BL Santhosh (National General Secretary, Organisation), K Laxman (OBC Cell Chief), Sudha Yadav, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, and Satyanarayan Jatiya.
The Vice Presidential election was necessitated following the unexpected resignation of incumbent Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21, citing health reasons. Nominations for the election must be filed by August 21.
