Chandrapuram Ponnuswamy Radhakrishnan, popularly known as CP Radhakrishnan, has been elected as the new Vice President of India. He was elected on Tuesday September 9, after obtaining 452 first preference votes. He succeeds former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned on July 21 due to health reasons. (Image: PTI)
Born on October 20, 1957 in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan belongs to the Gounder-Kongu Vellalar community, classified as Other Backward Classes (OBC). Before running for Vice President of India, Radhakrishnan was the Governor of Maharashtra. Prior to this, he served as Governor of Jharkhand and also served as Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. (Photo: X/@blsanthosh)
Radhakrishnan’s political journey began as a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and then he joined the Jan Sangh in 1974. He won the Lok Sabha seats from Coimbatore in 1998 and 1999. He chaired the Textiles Committee of Parliament and served on the Finance and PSU panels. (Photo: X/@iChiragPaswan)
CP Radhakrishnan was the Tamil Nadu BJP president from 2004 to 2007. During his tenure, he led a 93-day, 19,000 km-long Ratha Yatra to highlight demands for linking all Indian rivers, implementation of a uniform civil code and eradication of terrorism. From 2020 to 2022, he served as the BJP’s All India Incharge for Kerala. (Photo: X/@CPRGuv)
He is said to have strong ties to the south Indian grassroots, which could help the BJP in parliamentary elections due next year in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Radhakrishnan is also considered a confidant of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. (Image: PTI)