NEW DELHI — Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, the newly elected Vice President of India, is set to take the oath of office on Friday morning at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath, officially marking the start of his term as the 17th Vice President of the country.
According to a top NDA source, the ceremony is scheduled for the morning of September 12, as the time was “found auspicious by the pandit ji.” Invitations to the event will be extended to senior leaders of the NDA.
Radhakrishnan, the NDA’s nominee, secured a decisive victory in the election on Tuesday, winning with a total of 452 votes. His opponent, B. Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge and the Opposition candidate, received 300 votes.
The results, announced by Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer PC Mody, showed a high voter turnout of 98.2 per cent, with 767 out of 781 Members of Parliament casting their ballots. Of these, 752 were deemed valid, and 15 were invalid, which set the required majority at 377 votes.
While the NDA had the support of 427 MPs on paper, Radhakrishnan’s final tally of 452 votes included support from 11 lawmakers from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) as well. The fact that the NDA candidate received 14 more votes than expected has fueled speculation of cross-voting from the Opposition camp.
Following the announcement of the results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to the Vice President-elect on social media. “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.
A total of 13 MPs abstained from voting in the election, including seven from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and one Independent MP.
CP Radhakrishnan To Be Sworn In As India’s 17th Vice President On Friday
