The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced Maharashtra Governor and BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan as the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate for the post of Vice President.
The decision was taken at the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting, which was called to finalise the party's choice for the Vice Presidential election. If elected, Radhakrishnan will succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned as Vice President last month citing health reasons.
According to sources, Radhakrishnan may attend the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday as well.
Who is CP Radhakrishnan?
Chandrapuram Ponnuswamy Radhakrishnan was born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. He served as the Tamil Nadu state president from 2003 to 2006.
Radhakrishnan has held several key positions in his political journey. He took charge as the Governor of Maharashtra on July 31, 2024. Earlier, he served as the Governor of Jharkhand from February 18, 2023, to July 30, 2024. He also held additional charges as the Governor of Telangana from March to July 2024 and as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from March to August 2024.
The Election Commission of India on August 7 issued a notice regarding the elections that will take place to appoint the new Vice President of India on September 9. The latest notice details the specific dates for filing the nomination papers and candidature withdrawals.
The Vice Presidential election stems up after Jagdeep Dhankhar's surprising resignation after he chaired the first day of the Parliament Monsoon Session as Rajya Sabha Chairman.
The move triggered speculation in political circles, with the Opposition raising questions. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there might be “far more” to the resignation “than meets the eye”. He revealed that he spoke with the 74-year-old Dhankhar on the phone two hours before the resignation news broke and that the Vice President appeared to have no immediate concerns.
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