NDA's CP Radhakrishnan is India's next Vice-President
BJP leaders are quick to claim that at least 15 Opposition MPs voted in favour of Radhakrishnan.
NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan was elected the next vice-president of India on Tuesday (September 9) as he bagged 452 votes against the Opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy's 300, winning the contest with a bigger-than-expected margin, indicating cross-voting from the rival camp.
Announcing the result of the vice-presidential election this evening, Rajya Sabha secretary general and returning officer P C Mody said 767 MPs cast their votes out of the total valid electors of 781 in a turnout of 98.2 per cent. He said 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, bringing down the required majority of first preference votes to 377.
Though the victory of Radhakrishnan (67), currently the Maharashtra governor and a seasoned leader with an RSS background and decades-long stint first in the Jan Sangh and then the BJP in Tamil Nadu, was a foregone conclusion due to the ruling alliance's numerical edge but the extent of his victory margin is seen as a setback to the Opposition.
Opposition MPs cast invalid votes?
BJP leaders were quick to claim that at least 15 opposition MPs voted in favour of Radhakrishnan. There were hints from the ruling alliance that some Opposition MPs deliberately cast invalid votes.
"I declare C P Radhakrishnan elected to the post of Vice President of India and the results will be communicated to the Election Commission," Mody said.
BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal claimed that "nearly 40 opposition MPs" listened to the voice of their conscience and voted in "some manner" in support of the NDA candidate, showing a wider acceptance for him. His assertion of support from 40 opposition MPs appeared to include several invalid votes.
Some opposition leaders had appealed to MPs' conscience in the polls to support Reddy, and the senior BJP leader's comments were seen as a retort to them.
"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," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.
"I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional values and enhance Parliamentary discourse," he said.
Radhakrishnan isIndia's 15th vice president when he is sworn in to the post.
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- 9 Sept 2025 9:52 AM IST
Congress hits out at YSRCP for supporting NDA nominee in VP polls
Ahead of the vice presidential poll, the Congress on Tuesday (September 9) attacked YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy for supporting NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and accused him of betrayal for not standing with democratic forces.
In a post on X, Congress leader Manickam Tagore said the people of Andhra Pradesh will not forget his "betrayal" by choosing to support an RSS candidate out of "fear" of CBI cases over the interests of Andhra Pradesh.
"History won't forget Yagan Mohan Reddy's betrayal. By supporting an RSS-backed candidate for Vice President, he has chosen fear of CBI cases over the interests of Andhra Pradesh," he said.
"This is not about strategy. This is about surrender - surrendering to Modi - Babu's pressure, instead of standing with democratic forces," Tagore said.
The Congress leader said Jagan's "compromise" today will be remembered as the day "he placed his personal survival above people's mandate." "Andhra deserved courage. He chose cowardice," he alleged.
"When leaders bend before Delhi out of fear, they betray the people who trusted them. Jagan will be remembered not as a fighter, but as a politician who sold his spine to escape CBI courtrooms," Tagore said.
- 9 Sept 2025 8:54 AM IST
Radhakrishnan: It will be a big victory for Indian nationalism
NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan speaks to the media ahead of V-P poll voting. He predicted a big win for Indian nationalism.
- 9 Sept 2025 8:19 AM IST
Shiromani Akali Dal to boycott poll
Shiromani Akali Dal said it will boycott the vice presidential poll on Tuesday in the wake of floods in Punjab.
Former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the lone Shiromani Akali Dal MP from Bathinda.
In a post on X, Shiromani Akali Dal wrote, "Punjab and Punjabis have always stood by the nation whenever and wherever there has been a crisis. But today Punjabis themselves face a very severe crisis because of unprecedented floods. Almost one-third of the state lies submerged under water with houses and crops completely destroyed." Referring to the floods, the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led party alleged that it is a "man-made" tragedy caused by AAP government's "negligence and incompetence".
- 9 Sept 2025 8:18 AM IST
BJD to abstain
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday said it will abstain from voting in the vice presidential polls, and asserted that the party remains "equidistant" from both the NDA and the INDIA bloc.
BJD leader Sasmit Patra also said his party's priority is the "four-and-a-half crore people of Odisha".
"(Following) discussions by our honourable party president, Mr Naveen Patnaik with the party's senior leaders, Political Affairs Committee and MPs, the Biju Janata Dal has decided to abstain from the vice presidential elections tomorrow," Patra said.
- 9 Sept 2025 8:18 AM IST
BRS to abstain from Vice-Presidential election
BRS Working President K T Rama Rao said his party would abstain from the Vice Presidential election on September 9 as an expression of "anguish" felt by Telangana's farmers due to the shortage of urea in the state.
He alleged that both the Congress and BJP have "failed" to address the issue, which has led to scuffles among farmers waiting in queues. "We are abstaining. We are not going to participate," Rama Rao said.
