The ruling NDA has named Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its official candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election. The announcement came nearly a month after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post due to health reasons.

Announcement by BJP Leadership

BJP national president JP Nadda made the announcement at a press conference after the party’s parliamentary board meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the decision was taken after consulting NDA allies.

Dhankhar’s sudden resignation on July 21 surprised both the ruling camp and the Opposition. His exit made it necessary to hold a Vice Presidential election within 90 days.

NDA’s Plan for Consensus

Nadda explained that the BJP and NDA allies want to avoid a contest for the post. “We will talk to the opposition as well. We should also get their support so that together we can ensure an unopposed election for the post of Vice President. As we said earlier, we have been in touch with them and our senior leaders have contacted them earlier as well and even now, we will remain in touch with them and all our NDA colleagues have supported us. CP Radhakrishnan is our NDA’s candidate for Vice President," he told ANI.

Sources revealed that senior leaders like Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and Kiren Rijiju will begin reaching out to Opposition leaders from Monday to build consensus.

Who is CP Radhakrishnan?

• Born in 1957 in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu

• Current Governor of Maharashtra (since July 2024)

• Former Governor of Jharkhand (2023)

• Has an RSS background

• Served as Tamil Nadu BJP president (2004–2007); led a 93-day yatra across the state

• Twice elected MP from Coimbatore (1998, 1999)

• In charge of BJP in Kerala (2020–22), member of BJP National Executive

• Among the first MPs to visit Taiwan in 2014

• Addressed the UN General Assembly in 2003

• Chaired Coir Board (2016–2020) and expanded coir exports

• Known for his clean image and grassroots organizing skills in Tamil Nadu BJP

NDA Allies Back Candidate

NDA partners have already extended their support. Union Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi posted on X:
“We fully support the NDA candidate for Vice President, C.P. Radhakrishnan. We stand with the NDA from the streets to the Parliament."

Election Schedule

The Election Commission has fixed September 9 as the date for the Vice Presidential election. The deadline for filing nominations is August 21.