CP Radhakrishnan: Non-confrontational, rooted in RSS

CP Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu and former Maharashtra Governor, was sworn in as India’s 15th Vice President. Known for his RSS roots and administrative experience, he is the first OBC from South India to hold the post

New Delhi: Named after first Vice President S Radhakrishnan and strongly rooted in the RSS and the BJP, Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan brings with him a rich political and administrative experience as the 15th vice president of India, which his supporters believe will also prove handy in his role as the ex-officio chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Seen as a soft-spoken and non-confrontational leader, the 67-year-old Radhakrishnan took oath on Friday. He succeeds Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned as vice president on July 21, taking everyone by surprise. Radhakrishnan is the third leader from Tamil Nadu to occupy the coveted post.

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Dhankhar was known for his frequent run-ins with the Opposition, and had even faced an impeachment notice from them.

Described as a ‘Pachai Tamizhan’ (true-blue Tamil) by well-wishers, Radhakrishnan was serving as the governor of Maharashtra when he was named as the vice presidential nominee of the BJP-led NDA.

On Tuesday, when he was elected as the vice president, his mother Janaki Ammal fondly recalled the story behind his name.

“When my son was born, the then President Radhakrishnan was in office. He was a teacher, and I too was a teacher. In his memory, I named my son after him. At that time, my husband looked at me and asked, ‘are you giving this name because you want your son to become the President one day?’ After 62 years, just as my husband had said, it has come true,” she had told reporters in Tamil Nadu.

Radhakrishnan on Tuesday described his election to the second-highest Constitutional post as a victory of the nationalistic ideology and vowed to work towards making India a developed nation by 2047.

He won the vice presidential election by bagging 452 votes, while the opposition candidate, B Sudershan Reddy, polled 300 votes.

“The other side camp (opposition alliance) said that this (election) is an ideological fight, but from the voting pattern, we understand that the nationalistic ideology has emerged victorious,” Radhakrishnan said in his first public remarks after the win.

“It is a victory for every Indian; we all have to work together. If we have to develop Viksit Bharat by 2047, which means we should not do politics in everything, now we will have to concentrate on development,” he had said.

A two-term member of the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore during the tenure of prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Radhakrishnan came close to becoming a Union minister, but had to lose out to fellow Tamilian Pon Radhakrishnan in 1998 after some confusion over his name by the then floor managers of the BJP.

Radhakrishnan joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a teenager and rose through the ranks in the organisation and later in the BJP, gaining acceptability in the party and the state.

A member of the socially dominant and economically prosperous Kongu Vellalar Gounder community, he became the secretary of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit in 1996 and served as the party’s state unit president between 2003 and 2006.

An avid sportsperson, Radhakrishnan was a college champion in table tennis and a long-distance runner. He also enjoys cricket and volleyball.

Radhakrishnan is considered an untainted leader with rich political and administrative experience for the vice president’s office and this would also prove useful as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

“Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji has rich experience as MP and Governor of various states. His Parliamentary interventions were always incisive. During his gubernatorial tenures, he focused on addressing challenges faced by common citizens. These experiences ensured that he has vast knowledge of legislative and Constitutional matters. I am confident he will be an inspiring vice president,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said after the NDA chose Radhakrishnan as the vice presidential candidate.

The Tamil Nadu leader is said to be held in high esteem across party lines in his state, resulting in the BJP giving him multiple gubernatorial assignments in Jharkhand, Telangana, Maharashtra and Puducherry.

Radhakrishnan’s candidature also seeks to disarm the Opposition of a key political narrative, as he is the first OBC leader from South India to be named for the vice-president’s office.

An official profile circulated by the NDA projects Radhakrishnan as a leader who is eminent, knowledgeable and untainted by any legal accusations.

Radhakrishnan’s political innings started with his association with organisations such as the RSS and the Jan Sangh.

He took up student politics and has since used politics as a medium to serve the people.

Radhakrishnan’s track record of holding electoral, organisational and constitutional responsibilities shows that he is set to create history as the vice president of India.

He was sworn in as the governor of Maharashtra on July 31, 2024. Before this, he served as the governor of Jharkhand for nearly one-and-a-half years.

Born on October 20, 1957, at Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Starting as an RSS swayamsevak at the age of 16, he became a state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974.

Between 2004 and 2007, Radhakrishnan served as the Tamil Nadu BJP president. In this role, he undertook a 19,000-km ‘Rath Yatra’ that lasted for 93 days.