New Delhi, Sept 12: Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader with strong RSS roots, was sworn in on Friday as the 15th Vice President of India, succeeding Jagdeep Dhankhar who resigned on July 21. At 67, Radhakrishnan also assumes charge as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Radhakrishnan secured a decisive victory in the vice-presidential election, winning 452 votes against Opposition candidate B. Sudershan Reddy, who polled 300. Calling his election a triumph of “nationalistic ideology,” he vowed to work for India’s transformation into a developed nation by 2047.
The Tamil Nadu leader, described as a “soft-spoken and non-confrontational” politician, is the third person from his state and the first OBC leader from South India to hold the post. His mother, Janaki Ammal, recalled naming him after then-President S. Radhakrishnan, a teacher like herself, decades ago.
Radhakrishnan brings extensive political and administrative experience, having served as Governor of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Puducherry, as well as a two-term MP from Coimbatore during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. He narrowly missed a ministerial berth in 1998 due to a name mix-up with fellow BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him as an “untainted, knowledgeable leader” with incisive parliamentary interventions and a people-focused record as governor. His rise from an RSS swayamsevak at age 16 to state BJP president and national leader underscores his decades-long journey in public life.
Born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan studied Business Administration, excelled in sports like table tennis and long-distance running, and has remained deeply engaged in political and community service throughout his career.
