NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan comfortably defeated the united Opposition’s candidate, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy (retired). Radhakrishnan secured 452 votes against Reddy’s 300 from members of Parliament.
A veteran Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Radhakrishnan is a two-time MP and former state president. He has also served as governor of Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Known for his RSS and Jana Sangh background, he is regarded as a committed party worker with strong organisational skills.
In Radhakrishnan, the Rajya Sabha will have a chairman known for his amenable nature—unlike his predecessor, who had frequent run-ins with Opposition leaders.
With 67-year-old Radhakrishnan, the BJP has ticked several boxes. First, he belongs to South India. With assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Kerala approaching, his elevation to the country’s second-highest constitutional post sends out a positive signal.
Second, he belongs to the Gounder OBC community—an influential caste in Tamil Nadu. In this process, the BJP has made a political statement that it is pursuing social engineering, as it had promised while committing to a caste census. After Prime Minister Modi, he becomes the second OBC leader to hold such a high constitutional office. If the BJP were to appoint an OBC leader as its next party president, the message of social engineering would be amplified many times over.
Third, Radhakrishnan’s elevation points to a ‘course correction’ within the BJP. After a bitter falling-out with Jagdeep Dhankhar, an import from another party, the emphasis appears to be back on rewarding and trusting leaders from the ideological core.
As an RSS man from the South takes charge of the second-highest constitutional post, the move could impact both the organisation and the government. The party has delayed the selection of its next president for several months amid rumours of differences with its ideological mentor, the RSS. The eventual choice is expected to be someone who can steer the party through politically choppy waters.
These polls also underlined how the ruling BJP continues to wield power. Three non-aligned parties—BRS, Akali Dal and BJD—abstained from voting, revealing a soft corner for the government of the day. This also indicates which way these parties may swing on crucial issues where government support is at stake.
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The vice presidential polls now bring up the next questions: the selection of the BJP president and a possible cabinet reshuffle. But doubts remain over whether the government will act before the Bihar Assembly polls, as such moves could draw attention to how leaders from poll-bound states are accommodated.
One deduction, however, may be quietly made: the next BJP chief is unlikely to come from southern India. Could he be from the East? The name of the Union education minister is already being mentioned.