Vice Presidential Election Results: C.P. Radhakrishnan Declared 15th Vice-President of India

Polling has begun in Parliament for the Vice President election at 10 AM on 9 September 2025. 

The election pits NDA’s C.P. Radhakrishnan against INDIA bloc’s B. Sudershan Reddy for the post of Vice President left vacant since the surprise resignation of former VP Jagdeep Dhankar on July 21.

C.P. Radhakrishnan is a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, the current Maharashtra Governer, and a two time MP from Coimbatore from 1998 to 2004. B. Sudershan Reddy is a former judge who served in the Supreme Court between 2007 and 2011.

PM Modi casted the first vote. Polling will take place till 5 PM, with vote counting starting at 6 PM. The winner will be declared later this evening.

The post is of great importance to both camps since the Vice President serves as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Voting is done by secret ballot since members do not have to obey party whips. The electoral college for the Vice Presidential election comprises 781 members, including 542 elected members of the Lok Sabha and 239 members of the Rajya Sabha (233 elected and 12 nominated, with six vacancies across both Houses).

All votes carry equal value. The majority mark needed to win is 391 votes. Currently there are 425 NDA MPs in Parliament against 324 Opposition MPs.

(Inputs from IANS)

B. Sudershan Reddy, VP candidate for the INDIA bloc has cast his vote in the VP elections. “I have given my message. I have received love from the people and a positive response from civil society,” he says.

B. Sudershan Reddy is former Supreme Court judge who served his tenure from 2007 to 2011. He has been fielded by the INDIA Opposition against NDA’s C.P. Radhakrishnan.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress National President Mallikarjun arrive at Parliament to cast their ballots, following Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, 2 NDA MPs have skipped breakfast, leading to questions of dissent within the ranks, since no party whip applies to this election.

Senior Congress Leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Parliament Rahul Gandhi has left Parlieament after casting his vote in the VP election, without answering questions from the press.

Anurag Thakur, Priyanka Gandhi, Kangana Ranaut, Rajnath Singh, Akhilesh Yadav, Shashi Tharoor, and other high profile MPs from both camps have cast their votes in the VP election.

Union Health Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda has arrived at Parliament to cast his vote.

Meanwhile, MPs from both camps have expressed their opinions on the outcome of the election. TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said "Some of the Opposition MPs will be voting for us," while Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated, "The INDIA bloc will fight the elections together. We have requested a conscience vote."

11 YSR Congress MPs and 1 MP from the INDIA bloc are expected to vote for the NDA's C.P. Radhakrishnan, raising his total expected votes upto 432, well over the majority of 391 needed.

2 others and 6 Independent MPs are voting in favour of the Opposition's B. Sudershan Reddy for a total of 324.

Meanwhile, 3 parties - BJD, SAD and BRS - and 2 independent MPs are abstaining from the poll, leaving 12 votes sidelined and bringing the threshhold for victory down to 384.

Amit Shah has cast his vote for the VP election, he shared on social media.

Meanwhile, Opposition MPs Sonia Gandhi, Dimple Yadav and Priyanka Chaturvedi have also cast their ballots, along with Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kiren Rijiju and Chirag Paswan.

As of 3 PM, 96% polling has been recorder at the booths setup inside Parliamnet by the Election Commission. Polling will continue till 5 PM, with counting expected to start at 6 PM.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla cast his vote in VP election along with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. 762 out of 768 ballots have been cast so far.

Polling for the VP elections has concluded. Over 700 MPs cast their ballots, with 13 abstaining. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh mentioned on X that all 315 Opposition MPs turned up to vote.