VP polls: NDA pick CP Radhakrishnan wins; victory explained in numbers

NEW DELHI: NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan was on Tuesday elected as India’s 15th vice president, defeating opposition INDIA bloc candidate and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy.Radhakrishnan, currently serving as Maharashtra governor, will vacate the post to succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose abrupt resignation on July 21 created the vacancy.The vice president holds the country’s second-highest constitutional office, after the President of India.Also read: NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan is India's next vice-president; gets 452 votesHere’s the 17th vice presidential election in numbers:Total votes: 767Valid votes: 752Invalid votes: 15Radhakrishnan votes: 452Reddy votes: 300Electoral college strength: 788 (543 Lok Sabha MPs, 245 Rajya Sabha)Present strength: 781 (6 Rajya Sabha seats vacant; 1 in Lok Sabha)Abstentions (MPs who didn’t vote): 12NDA numbers before voting: 427 (+11 YSRCP MPs)INDIA bloc numbers before voting: 315President Murmu, PM Modi congratulate CP RadhakrishnanPresident Droupadi Murmu congratulated Radhakrishnan, saying: “Congratulations to Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan on being elected as the Vice President of India! Your decades of experience in public life will contribute significantly to the nation’s progress. I wish you a successful and impactful tenure.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X: “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.”Radhakrishnan also served 2 terms in the Lok Sabha, winning from the Coimbatore seat in the 1998 and 1999 general elections. He held gubernatorial posts in Jharkhand, Telangana, Puducherry, and since July 2024, Maharashtra.