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CP Radhakrishnan took oath as the Vice President of India on Friday at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Radhakrishnan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Nitin Gadkari and other dignitaries were present at the ceremony. According to a top NDA source, the morning of September 12 was chosen for the ceremony as the time was found to be "auspicious by the pandit ji," said the NDA source. Ahead of the ceremony, several political leaders arrived in Delhi to attend the event. Those present in the capital include Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan the NDA nominee, was elected as the 15th Vice President of India on Tuesday, securing 452 votes against Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, who received 300 votes. Previously, he served as the Governor of Maharashtra. He also served as the Governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024. He also held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry between March and July 2024.A veteran BJP leader, Radhakrishnan, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore twice and served as the Tamil Nadu BJP State President. Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer PC Mody had said that 767 out of 781 MPs cast their votes, recording a turnout of 98.2 per cent. Of these, 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, lowering the required majority of first preference votes to 377. While the NDA had the backing of 427 MPs on paper, 11 lawmakers from the YSRCP also supported Radhakrishnan. Interestingly, the NDA candidate received 14 votes more than expected, sparking speculation of cross-voting from the Opposition camp. Furthermore, 13 MPs abstained from voting in the election. These include seven MPs from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one MP from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and one Independent MP. (ANI)
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