New Delhi, September 12: Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India at a solemn ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office in the presence of senior leaders and dignitaries.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, along with former Vice Presidents Jagdeep Dhankhar, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Hamid Ansari. After the swearing-in, Radhakrishnan paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee, was elected on September 9, defeating Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy by securing 452 votes against 300. A total of 767 MPs cast their votes, recording a 98.2% turnout. Interestingly, Radhakrishnan polled 14 votes more than the NDA’s expected tally, suggesting possible cross-voting from the Opposition.
Congratulating him, Prime Minister Modi expressed confidence that Radhakrishnan would “strengthen constitutional values and enrich parliamentary discourse.” His election follows the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar in July, who stepped down citing health reasons, cutting short his tenure by over two years.
