​Man of faith: on C.P. Radhakrishnan, 15th Vice-President of India

C.P. Radhakrishnan, 68, who joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a teenager, has been elected as the Vice-President of India, marking another attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to link its version of nationalist ideology with the Sangh Parivar agenda. Mr. Radhakrishnan was a member of the TN Jan Sangh executive committee by 1974 — a time when the Sangh Parivar’s presence in Tamil Nadu was marginal and his political affiliation was clearly inspired by ideology than careerism. On September 9, 2025, he became the Vice-President of India, a reward for his ideological fealty on the one hand, and as a milestone in his journey of the RSS on the other. He secured 452 out of 752 valid votes, and defeated Justice B. Sudershan Reddy from the INDIA bloc by 152 votes. He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice, from Coimbatore in 1998 and 1999, as a BJP candidate supported by the AIADMK and then the DMK. He served on parliamentary committees and a special committee investigating a stock market scam. He also represented India at the UN General Assembly. From 2004 to 2007, as BJP State president, he undertook a 93-day “Ratha Yatra”, advocating river linking, ending untouchability, countering terrorism, and promoting a Uniform Civil Code.

As the Governor of Jharkhand (2023) and Maharashtra (2024), Mr. Radhakrishnan expanded his administrative experience and enhanced his political stature, but his new role will be a different kettle of fish. As the V-P, he will also function as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, which will test his political acumen. He has spoken in support of federalism and smoother Centre-State relations in the past, but the general inclination of the BJP and the RSS is towards a centralisation of power. The role of Parliament has weakened in recent years even as the executive has expanded its power to unprecedented levels. The Rajya Sabha has been particularly undermined by arbitrary classification of Bills as finance Bills that do not require its approval. The concept of the Rajya Sabha as a council of States existed more in theory than in practice always, but its deliberate erosion is a recent development. The relationship between the government and the Opposition has become hostile and toxic in recent years. Even parliamentary committees have become battlegrounds of senseless rhetoric rather than platforms of thoughtful deliberations. Mr. Radhakrishnan has his task cut out. With his affable demeanour, he just might be able to nudge the government and the Opposition toward better cooperation and less combativeness.