CP Radhakrishnan takes oath as India’s 15th Vice President; former V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar present at ceremony

CP Radhakrishnan felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan on Friday took oath as the 15th Vice President of India during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan in the national capital.

President Droupadi Murmu the oath of office to 67-year-old Radhakrishnan in the presence of senior government officials as well as dignitaries.

Among the people present at the oath-taking ceremony were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president JP Nadda, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, among others.

Radhakrishnan, who was the NDA nominee for the Vice Presidential polls, was elected after securing 452 votes against Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, who received 300 votes.

Rajya Sabha secretary general and returning officer PC Mody said that 767 out of 781 MPs cast their votes. Of these, 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, lowering the required majority of first preference votes to 377.

Following the announcement of results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated CP Radhakrishnan and expressed confidence that the newly elected Vice President would strengthen India's constitutional values and contribute positively to parliamentary discourse.

"Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential election. His life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised. I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional values and enhance Parliamentary discourse," Prime Minister Modi wrote on X.

The election was necessitated due to the sudden resignation of the then incumbent, Jagdeep Dhankhar, on July 21 citing health reasons.

"To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution," Dhankhar said in his letter to President Droupadi Murmu.