Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 15th Vice-President of India on Friday in a solemn ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Radhakrishnan at 10:10 am in English. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice-Presidents Jagdeep Dhankhar and M Venkaiah Naidu, former President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and several other dignitaries.
Radhakrishnan, 67, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu with deep RSS roots, secured 452 votes in the vice-presidential election. His opponent, INDIA bloc nominee and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, polled 300 votes. The result was widely anticipated, given the BJP-led NDA’s comfortable numerical strength of 427 MPs, bolstered by support from YSR Congress Party MPs and smaller parties. Reports also suggested cross-voting in his favour.
The election followed the sudden resignation of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 due to health reasons.
Prior to assuming office, Radhakrishnan resigned as Governor of Maharashtra on Thursday. President Murmu has given Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat additional charge of Maharashtra until a new appointment is made.
Radhakrishnan is a two-time MP from Coimbatore, former BJP Tamil Nadu chief, and a veteran leader who began his political career with the Jana Sangh before rising through the BJP ranks.
