NDA nominee and Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan was on Tuesday elected as the new Vice President, securing a comfortable victory in what was billed as a rare 'South vs South' electoral contest.
Announcing the results, Rajya Sabha Secretary-General P.C. Mody said that Radhakrishnan polled 452 first preference votes, defeating opposition nominee and former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy, who received 300 first preference votes.
The election witnessed a strong turnout with 752 members casting their votes out of the total 782 in the electoral college.
The Vice President is chosen by an electoral college comprising members of both Houses of Parliament – 233 elected and 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha (which presently has five vacancies) and 543 members of the Lok Sabha (one vacancy). This year's contest carried symbolic weight as both candidates hailed from the South.
Radhakrishnan, a veteran leader from Tamil Nadu with a long-standing association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was pitched by the NDA as a grassroots leader with administrative experience.
Justice Reddy (retd), from Telangana, was projected by the opposition as a distinguished legal mind who could strengthen constitutional values in the second-highest office of the land.
The election was conducted through a secret ballot, following the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.
Radhakrishnan's victory adds to the NDA's tally of key constitutional positions.
The election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of incumbent Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose term was to last till 2027, in July.
As the Vice President, Radhakrishnan will also function as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, a role that places him at the heart of parliamentary proceedings, amid the frequent disruptions that have affected the sessions of both houses.
(With inputs from IANS)
