Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, the NDA candidate for the post of the Vice President, will succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar in the post. The 68-year-old sailed through the election today, scooping up 452 first preference votes, leaving Opposition candidate and retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy trailing with 300 first preference votes.
While 754 votes were cast, 15 were found to be invalid. Of the valid votes, Mr Radhakrishnan got 452 first preference votes, Justice Reddy got 300, said Returning Officer for the election PV Mody.
The 150-vote margin, however, is one of the lowest in the Vice-Presidential polls. In 2022, Jagdeep Dhankhar had beaten Opposition candidate Margaret Alva with the highest margin in the six last Vice Presidential elections. He secured 528 votes to her tally of 182.
Cross Voting
The voting figures also made it clear that there has been considerable cross-voting – presumably from Opposition MPs. At least 15 MPs are expected to have voted for the NDA candidate.
Though the Congress has claimed that the 315 Opposition MPs had held together, jubilant NDA is claiming this as another example of the deep fissures in the Opposition ranks ahead of a series of state elections.
The NDA had 427 votes, and YSR Congress, which was supporting it, had 11 MPs. So the NDA votes should have been capped at 438 but Mr Radhakrishnan got 452 votes — 14 more votes.
The cancellation of 15 votes also raises questions about the Opposition votes. While the Congress claimed that had 315 votes but the Opposition candidate Mr Reddy got only 300 votes.
The BJP’s Nishikant Dubey was among the first to respond, asking in a post in X “which 15 people ran away and voted for us”.
“Even the leaders along with the public have run away from you… By the way, @RahulGandhi ji the Vice President’s election was indeed held using ballot paper, not E (electronic),” he added.
Who Is CP Radhakrishnan
While the cross-voting could be a matter of internal investigation, this was a possibility the BJP appeared to have counted on when they decided to field the Tamil Nadu leader.
A veteran BJP leader, Mr Radhakrishnan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore twice and previously served as the BJP’s state chief.
He has served as the Governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024 and held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. A genial and affable person. he is seen to believe more in cooperation and has friends across party lines.
His selection was expected to create a rift in the Opposition ranks ahead of the state elections in Tamil Nadu.
What Congress Said
Congratulating the Vice President elect, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, posted on X: “We hope the new Vice President-elect will uphold the highest ethos of Parliamentary traditions, ensuring equal space and dignity for the Opposition, and not succumb to pressures of the ruling dispensation”.
“The Vice President, the second highest Constitutional office in the order of precedence, must be revitalised to reflect independence, fairness, and strength in safeguarding Democratic values,” he added.
