Senior BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan has been elected as the Vice-President of India, defeating opposition candidate and retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy in a closely watched election held on September 9, 2025.

The election was necessitated after former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from office in July citing health reasons.

Members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated representatives, cast their votes at the new Parliament building in the capital.

Voting was conducted by secret ballot between 10 am and 5 pm, with nearly 99 per cent of eligible MPs taking part.

When counting concluded in the evening, Radhakrishnan, the National Democratic Alliance’s nominee, secured 452 votes, while the INDIA bloc’s candidate Sudershan Reddy received 300.

The clear margin ensured Radhakrishnan’s victory and his elevation to the second-highest constitutional office in the country.

While most parties participated in the voting, the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi abstained, with the latter citing the ongoing farmers’ fertilizer crisis as its reason.

Radhakrishnan, who has previously served as Governor of Maharashtra and headed the BJP in Tamil Nadu, is regarded as a seasoned organisational figure within the party.

Sudershan Reddy, on the other hand, is a respected former judge of the Supreme Court, whose nomination was seen as an attempt by the opposition to project an independent and credible face.

The Vice-President of India also functions as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and steps in as Acting President when required.

Radhakrishnan will now assume charge of the office at a time when parliamentary proceedings have been marked by sharp exchanges between the treasury benches and the opposition.

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