Finance
Vice President Election 2025: Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, a veteran leader with strong ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was voted as India’s 15th Vice President on Tuesday, becoming the 3rd Tamil Nadu leader to hold the position. He secured a total of 452 votes. The 67-year-old follows Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned on July 21 for health reasons.
Opposition INDIA bloc nominee and former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy, polled 300 votes.
The election was held between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., with members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha making up the 781-member electoral college. 13 MPs abstained from voting: seven from the Biju Janata Dal, four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, one from the Shiromani Akali Dal, and one independent MP.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominated Radhakrishnan, who also serves as Maharashtra’s governor. He was pitted against the INDIA bloc’s joint opposition candidate, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi voted first, followed by Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, J.P. Nadda, and Kiren Rijiju, among others. On the opposition side, Lok Sabha Leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra all exercised their franchise.
The vice-presidential election was held 50 days after Dhankhar resigned, resulting in a direct struggle between the ruling alliance and the opposition.
