CP Radhakrishnan, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee, has been elected as India’s 15th Vice President after securing a decisive victory in the polls. He received 452 votes, defeating his rival B. Sudershan Reddy of the INDIA bloc, who garnered 300 votes. With this, Radhakrishnan won by a clear margin of 152 votes. The polling began at 10 am and ended at 5 pm on Tuesday, followed by the counting of votes which confirmed his victory.
Radhakrishnan was backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its NDA allies, including the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (United), Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Janata Dal (Secular), and AIADMK. In a significant boost, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) led by Jagan Mohan Reddy also supported him. On the other hand, Reddy drew support from the INDIA bloc partners such as the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and the Left parties.
Interestingly, some key regional parties, including the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), abstained from voting. Based on support commitments, Radhakrishnan was expected to secure around 437 votes but exceeded the projection with 452, while Reddy, who was certain of at least 324 votes, managed to secure only 300. This outcome highlights the NDA’s consolidated strength and the cracks within the INDIA bloc’s vote base.
