CP Radakrishnan, the governor of Maharashtra, has been announced as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the Vice Presidential polls scheduled for September 9.
The decision was taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s highest decision making body, the Parliamentary Board, that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
Party president JP Nadda told the media that the decision to nominate 68-year-old Radhakrishnan was taken after “extensive discussions with the NDA partners”. He said senior leaders of the BJP had also reached out to the Opposition parties to support the NDA’s nominee.
“The opposition leaders conveyed to us that their decision to support the nominee will depend on the candidate. We are hopeful that the VP will be elected by consensus,” Nadda said.
Radhakrishnan was earlier the governor of Jharkhand (2023 to 2024) and had additional charge of Telangana. He had also served as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
He was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore and is a former state president of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit.
According to people aware of the details, the 11-member Board, which met at the party headquarters in the Capital, had detailed discussions on the names that were shortlisted for the election.
Elections to pick the new VP will be held on September 9, and the last date for filing of nominations is August 21. The vacancy arose after the incumbent, Jagdeep Dhankhar, announced a sudden resignation on July 21, citing health concerns.
The Parliamentary Board includes party president JP Nadda, union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Sarbanand Sonowal, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yedyurappa, BL Santhosh, national general secretary (organisation), OBC cell chief K Laxman, Sudha Yadav, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, and Satyanarayan Jatiya.
