The BJP picked Maharashtra Governor and veteran party leader from Tamil Nadu CP Radhakrishnan as National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s candidate for the September 9 vice-presidential election.
BJP chief JP Nadda made the announcement after a three-hour meeting of the party parliamentary board attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, on Sunday evening. The NDA will formally endorse his candidature at its meeting to be held on Wednesday and likely to file his nomination on Thursday, the last day for filing nomination.
“We have been in touch with our NDA partners and other political parties, and hope to reach a consensus on the name of Radhakrishnan, who has 40 years of active public life behind him and is respected across party lines in Tamil Nadu. We will talk to the Opposition,” said Nadda.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, 68, was sworn in as the Governor of Maharashtra on July 31, 2024. He had earlier served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly one and a half years.
During his tenure in Jharkhand, Radhakrishnan had also discharged the functions of the Governor of Telangana and Lt-Governor of Puducherry. Starting his political life as an RSS swayamsevak, Radhakrishnan became a state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1974.
In 1996, he was appointed BJP secretary in Tamil Nadu. He got elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Coimbatore in 1998 and again in 1999.
Between 2004 and 2007, he served as the BJP state president in Tamil Nadu, where he undertook a 19,000-km “Ratha Yatra” that lasted for 93 days.
The yatra was organised to highlight his demands for the linking of all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, removing untouchability and combating the menace of narcotic drugs. He also led two more “padayatras” for different causes, with tuberculosis elimination being one of his major goals.
Meanwhile, the Opposition will meet to take a call on a joint vice-presidential candidate in New Delhi on Monday. Sources say the meeting is likely to take place in the chambers of LoP in RS Mallikarjun Kharge. The Opposition had earlier said they would field a non-political person as their nominee. The BJP on Sunday said it would talk to the Opposition for a consensus.
