Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan became 15th Vice President of India today as he was administered oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu. The oath-taking ceremony was held at Rashtrapati Bhawan in the national capital. Former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar attended the oath ceremony along with his wife. Former VPs M Venkaiah Naidu and Hamid Ansari were also present during the event. This was Jagdeep Dhankhar’s first public appearance since quitting post last month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari were present during the ceremony that also marked NDA’s show of unity. Several BJP Chief Ministers and NDA allies attended the event. Those present included Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Heavy Industries Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy.
Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee, was elected as the 15th Vice President of India on Tuesday, securing 452 votes against Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, who received 300 votes. Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer PC Mody said that 767 out of 781 MPs cast their votes, recording a turnout of 98.2 per cent. Of these, 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, lowering the required majority of first preference votes to 377.
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While the NDA had the backing of 427 MPs on paper, 11 lawmakers from the YSRCP also supported Radhakrishnan. Interestingly, the NDA candidate received 14 votes more than expected, sparking speculation of cross-voting from the Opposition camp. Furthermore, 13 MPs abstained from voting in the election. These include seven MPs from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one MP from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and one Independent MP. (With ANI inputs)