Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan was elected as the 17th Vice-President of India on Tuesday (September 9, 2025) by a margin of 152 votes. The Opposition fell short of its own expected tally, even as 98.2% of the total electorate, comprising members of both Houses of Parliament, cast their ballot.
Mr. Radhakrishnan — the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s nominee — secured 452 first preferential votes against the joint Opposition candidate Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, who got 300 votes. Another 15 votes were found to be invalid and 14 MPs abstained.
Including the strength of both Houses, the full electoral college comprises 788 electors. With six vacancies in Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha, this tally was reduced to 781 for the V-P poll. Out of this, 767 electors cast their vote before the polling closed at 5 p.m. Rajya Sabha Secretary General P.C. Mody, who was the returning officer for the election, announced the results.
Cross-voting by Opposition MPs
Though the Opposition declared the final count a “moral victory”, it still fell short of its own estimated strength of 324, despite having managed to get nearly all of its members to vote. On the other hand, the NDA and others aligned with the government, who had an assumed strength of 439, seem to have managed an additional 13 votes, indicating cross-voting from the Opposition’s ranks.
“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 Narendra Modi posted on X, minutes after the results were announced. Other senior Ministers and BJP leaders also congratulated him.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge extended his wishes to Mr. Radhakrishnan, while also thanking Justice Reddy for putting up a “spirited and principled fight” on behalf of the Opposition. Calling it an ideological battle, he said, “We hope the new Vice President-elect will uphold the highest ethos of Parliamentary traditions, ensuring equal space and dignity for the Opposition, and not succumb to pressures of the ruling dispensation.”
He also underlined that this election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on the opening day of the Monsoon Session on July 21, 2025. His exit, Mr. Kharge said, was “still unexplained and unceremonious”.
‘Spirit of dialogue’
In a concession statement, Justice Reddy said that he humbly accepted the outcome. “Our democracy is strengthened not by victory alone, but by the spirit of dialogue, dissent and participation. I remain committed, as a citizen, to upholding the ideals of equality, fraternity, and liberty that bind us together. May our Constitution continue to be the guiding light of our national life,” he said.
Mr. Radhakrishnan has not addressed the media or released any statement, other than thanking President Droupadi Murmu and the Prime Minister, Mr. Modi.
‘Arithmetical victory, moral defeat’
BJP leaders were quick to claim that at least 15 Opposition MPs had voted in favour of Mr. Radhakrishnan. There were hints from the ruling alliance that some Opposition MPs had deliberately cast invalid votes. BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal claimed that “nearly 40 Opposition MPs” had listened to the voice of their conscience and voted in “some manner” in support of the NDA candidate, showing a wider acceptance for him. His assertion of support from 40 Opposition MPs appeared to include several invalid votes.
Countering this claim, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh insisted that the Opposition stood united. “Its performance has undeniably been most respectable. Its joint candidate Justice (retd) B. Sudershan Reddy secured 40% of the vote. In 2022, the Opposition had received 26% of the vote in the Vice Presidential Elections. The BJP’s arithmetical victory is really both a moral and political defeat. The ideological battle continues undiminished,” he said in a post on X.
Age, illness, imprisonment no bar
Both sides pulled out all stops to ensure the maximum presence of their members. Mr. Modi was the first to exercise his franchise. Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Deve Gowda, aged 92 years, arrived at the polling booth in a wheelchair. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and the Congress chief, Mr. Kharge, were seen walking hand in hand to the polling booth. Underscoring the importance of the election, two Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MPs — Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Saugata Roy — came to cast their votes despite their ill health.
Engineer Rashid, the Lok Sabha MP from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency, arrived for the vote in police custody, following permission from a court. Mr. Rashid, 58, has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019, when he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 terror funding case.
Amritpal Singh, the MP from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib constituency, currently in eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail, refused to cast his vote. He returned the postal ballot, abstaining from the V-P election. Mr. Singh is facing charges under the National Security Act (NSA).
Source: The Hindu
