Newly elected Vice President C P Radhakrishnan is scheduled to be sworn in on September 12 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Officials confirmed that President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office in a formal ceremony. The 67-year-old leader secured victory in the Vice Presidential election held on Tuesday, defeating joint opposition candidate B. Sudarshan Reddy. The election was necessitated after former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post on July 21.
In the voting conducted in Parliament, Radhakrishnan received 452 first-preference votes out of 752 valid ballots, while Reddy secured 300. Fourteen MPs engaged in cross-voting. A total of 781 MPs were eligible to vote, comprising members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated members. Of these, 767 cast their votes, though 15 were invalid and one postal ballot was rejected.
Radhakrishnan’s tally exceeded the required majority of 377 by 75 votes. While the NDA was expected to secure 427 votes, support from YSR Congress Party’s 11 MPs and 14 opposition MPs pushed his count to 452. The BJP also succeeded in gaining the backing of parties that maintain equal distance from both the BJP and Congress, further ensuring his victory.
