New Delhi: Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India on Friday at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Radhakrishnan, who took the oath in English, dressed in a red kurta.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President JP Nadda, and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.

Radhakrishnan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA candidate, won the vice presidential election on Tuesday, defeating Opposition nominee B. Sudershan Reddy by a margin of 152 votes.

 

The election became necessary following the sudden resignation of the then Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar, on July 21 due to health reasons. Dhankhar attended the swearing-in ceremony, marking his first public appearance since stepping down. Former Vice Presidents Hamid Ansari and Venkaiah Naidu were also present.

Prior to taking office, Radhakrishnan resigned as Governor of Maharashtra on Thursday. President Murmu appointed Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat to discharge the functions of the Maharashtra Governor in addition to his own duties.

Born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, CP Radhakrishnan is a veteran BJP leader with over four decades of political experience. He has served as Governor of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and briefly held additional charges of Telangana and Puducherry.

Radhakrishnan began his political journey in the 1970s through the RSS, served as BJP Tamil Nadu State President (2004-2007), and was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore—a rare feat for BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu. He belongs to the Gounder community and represents significant OBC leadership within the party.