Our Bureau
New Delhi
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday announced Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election, scheduled to be held on September 9.
The announcement was made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda during a press conference following the party’s Parliamentary Board meeting held in the national capital.
“At the parliamentary board meeting, we all unanimously decided on the VP candidate, Mr CP Radhakrishna. We discussed the VP candidate with all our alliance party (NDA) earlier as well. We will discuss our opposition party as well to smooth the VP election…” Nadda said.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan is currently serving as the 24th Governor of Maharashtra, a post he assumed on July 31, 2024. He previously served as the Governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024. He also held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry between March and July 2024.
A veteran BJP leader, Radhakrishnan, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore twice and previously served as the Tamil Nadu BJP State President. Radhakrishnan was born on October 20, 1957, in Tamil Nadu’s Tirrupur.
The BJP stalwart from Tamil Nadu has achieved a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and became the state committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the BJP’s precursor, in 1974. Before the Jan Sangh, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In the year 1996, Radhakrishnan was appointed as the BJP Tamil Nadu secretary, following which he was elected as a Lok Sabha member from Coimbatore in 1998 and reelected again in 1999.
During his tenure as MP, he served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the Consultative Committee for Finance. Radhakrishnan was also a member of the Parliamentary Special Committee investigating the Stock Exchange Scam.
From the year 2004 to 2007, Radhakrishnan served as the Tamil Nadu state president and also led a 19,000 km ‘Rath Yatra’ which lasted for 93 days.
The main agenda of the Rath Yatra was to highlight his demands for the linking of all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, removing untouchability and combating the menace of narcotic drugs.
Radhakrishnan was appointed as the Chairman of the Coir Board, Kochi, which comes under the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, from 2016 to 2020, and held the position for four years. During his tenure, coir exports from India reached an all-time high of Rs 2,532 crores.
He was also the All India in Charge of the BJP for Kerala from 2020 to 2022.
Besides politics, Radhakrishnan was a college champion in table tennis and had combined interests in cricket and volleyball.
Radhakrishnan has also visited many foreign countries, including the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Egypt, the UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Japan.
Earlier, the Election Commission had announced that polling for the Vice Presidential election will take place on September 9, with counting of votes scheduled for the same day.
The last date for filing nominations is August 21, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until August 25.
The Vice Presidential post fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21, citing health reasons.
“To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the constitution,” Dhankhar’s resignation letter read.
