Vice President-elect Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan will be sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India on Friday, September 12, at Rashtrapati Bhawan. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office at the morning ceremony.
According to a senior NDA source, the date and time were chosen as “auspicious” based on the advice of a pandit. Invitations are being sent to senior leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the event.
Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee, was elected on Tuesday with 452 votes, defeating Opposition candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, who secured 300 votes. Out of 781 MPs, 767 cast their votes, marking a turnout of 98.2 per cent. Of these, 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, lowering the majority threshold to 377.
Although the NDA was assured of 427 votes, Radhakrishnan received 14 more than expected, with support coming from 11 MPs of the YSR Congress Party and suspected cross-voting from Opposition ranks.
Following the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Radhakrishnan, describing him as a leader dedicated to serving society and empowering the marginalised. “I am confident he will be an outstanding Vice President who will strengthen our constitutional values and enrich parliamentary discourse,” Modi said in a post on X.
Thirteen MPs abstained from voting, 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.