
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed for CP Radhakrishnan's unanimous election. PC: X/@CPRGuv
CP Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee and incumbent Governor of Maharashtra, has been elected as India's 15th Vice President. He defeated opposition INDIA bloc candidate, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy.
Results were announced immediately after voting. Radhakrishnan received 452 votes, whereas Reddy got 300 votes. The Returning Officer PC Mody announced the results and assured that the verdict would be forwarded to the Election Commission.
The 67-year-old politician has now emerged as the third Tamil Nadu politician to occupy the nation's second-most powerful constitutional position. Radhakrishnan, a Goundar-Kongu Vellalar OBC, was declared as the NDA's Vice Presidential nominee on August 17.
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The election was attended by both Houses of Parliament as members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha constitute the electoral college of 781 MPs. Voting commenced at 10 am and went on until 5 pm. As per Congress, 315 opposition MPs voted in the fray.
With this win, Radhakrishnan assumes an office of great responsibility, another watershed in his political career, and fortifies the NDA's presence at the top echelons of administration.