CP Radhakrishnan Takes Oath As 15th Vice President, J Dhankhar Present

Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan on Friday took oath as the 15th Vice President of India at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. 

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Radhakrishnan in the presence of senior government officials and dignitaries.

LIVE: Swearing-in-Ceremony of the Vice President-elect of India Shri C P Radhakrishnan https://t.co/dQbY3tRks9

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 12, 2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice-Presidents Jagdeep Dhankhar and Venkaiah Naidu, former President Ram Nath Kovind, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari, Uttarakhand Chief  Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and others were present during the oath taking ceremony.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the Oath of Office of Vice President of India to Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan at a Swearing-in-Ceremony held at Ganatantra Mandap, Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, former President of India Shri… pic.twitter.com/EcRgJe4gul

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 12, 2025

Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee, was elected as the Vice President on September 9, after he secured 452 votes in comparison to Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, who received 300 votes.

Jai Hind ! 🇮🇳🙏 pic.twitter.com/SxclXTkNgO

— CP Radhakrishnan (@CPRGuv) September 9, 2025

Announcing the result, 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.

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.

Following the announcement of results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated CP Radhakrishnan and expressed confidence that the newly elected Vice President would strengthen India's constitutional values and contribute positively to parliamentary discourse.

"Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential election. His life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised. I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional values and enhance Parliamentary discourse," Prime Minister Modi wrote on X.

Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential election. His life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised. I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 9, 2025

Notably, on July 21, Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down as Vice President, a little more than two years ahead of the end of his tenure. His term was to end on August 10, 2027. Officially, he cited medical reasons for his exit but sources earlier hinted at a deeper unease, possibly even a breakdown of trust between him and the Centre that he once strongly defended.

The tipping point, the sources said, came when Mr Dhankhar refused to align with the government's stand on the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma.

The Vice President of India is elected by an Electoral College comprising the elected members and nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and the elected members of the Lok Sabha.

According to Clause 2 of Article 68 of the Constitution, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of the Vice President occurring due to his death, resignation or removal, or otherwise, should be held "as soon as possible". The person elected to fill the vacancy will be entitled to hold office "for the full term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office".