CP Radhakrishnan, the candidate from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India. He won the election by securing 452 first-preference votes, defeating the opposition candidate Sudarshan Reddy, who received 300 votes. Radhakrishnan won by a margin of 152 votes in this tightly contested election.
Clear Victory and Voting Details
CP Radhakrishnan received strong support in the Vice Presidential election with 452 first-preference votes. Sudarshan Reddy, the candidate from the opposition INDI alliance, got 300 votes. The opposition had claimed support from 315 members of Parliament, but in the actual voting, Reddy received 15 fewer votes than expected. Notably, the BRS and BJD parties did not participate in the election. In the Rajya Sabha, BRS has 4 MPs and BJD has 7 MPs, but they chose to abstain. The only MP from the Shiromani Akali Dal also refused to vote, citing flood conditions in Punjab as the reason.
After the results, Sudarshan Reddy accepted defeat gracefully. He said, “Today, the MPs have given their verdict for the Vice President of India. I humbly accept this result with firm belief in democratic processes.” He also wished CP Radhakrishnan success in his new role.
Responses from National Leaders and Political Impact
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Radhakrishnan on his victory in the 2025 Vice Presidential election. He said that Radhakrishnan’s life has been dedicated to social service and empowering the poor and marginalised. Modi expressed confidence that Radhakrishnan would strengthen India’s constitutional values as Vice President.
President Droupadi Murmu also extended her congratulations. She said Radhakrishnan’s decades of rich experience in public life and said that his tenure will be successful and impactful.
This election marked an important step for the BJP’s focus on South India, where the party is currently weak. Andhra Pradesh is the only South Indian state where BJP is part of the ruling NDA government formed with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The Congress party governs Karnataka and Telangana, while DMK rules Tamil Nadu and the Left Front governs Kerala. Through Radhakrishnan’s candidature and victory, BJP aims to strengthen its political foothold and stability in the southern region.
Focus on South India and Ideological Voting
The BJP’s strategy in South India may boost by Radhakrishnan’s win. The Tamil Nadu and Kerala states will have assembly elections in 2026. In the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, BJP contested on 20 seats but won only 4 seats with a vote share of 2.6%. In Kerala, BJP currently has no representation in the 140-seat assembly, and it did not win any seats in the last election. BJP hopes to open its account in these crucial elections and increase its political presence.
This Vice Presidential election was largely decided along ideological lines. Usually, factors like language and regional identity influence such elections, but this time those did not play a impoertan role. For example, DMK, the largest party in Tamil Nadu, did not give even one vote to their fellow Tamizh candidate Radhakrishnan. Similarly, Telugu-speaking TDP and YSRCP did not support Sudarshan Reddy, despite his linguistic background. Both candidates received votes almost exclusively from their respective political blocs, NDA and INDI.
This shows the strong hold of party leadership over their MPs in the voting. The region-based parties like BJD and BRS abstained but still ensured their MPs voted in line with party decisions when they did participate.
