Last Updated:
A strong south Indian face for the BJP with a long RSS association, Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan is a former Tamil Nadu unit chief and is seen as a Modi-Shah confidant
Born on October 20, 1957, in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur, Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan is a garment exporter and industrialist. (Image: PTI/File)
Billed as a strong South Indian face for the BJP, Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan – the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate – is known to have a long association with the RSS.
Radhakrishnan, who is a former Tamil Nadu BJP president, was nominated by his party’s parliamentary board on Sunday.
He is seen as a confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Having a clean image and a strong grassroots connect only further his case as the BJP continues its dogged pursuit of gaining ground deeper south, particularly over Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which are scheduled to go polls next year.
Announcing the nomination, BJP president JP Nadda said the decision was made at a meeting chaired by Modi after an extensive deliberation. He said Radhakrishnan is considered a statesman and commands respect in all sections of society in Tamil Nadu.
The vice-presidential election, necessitated by the resignation of incumbent Jagdeep Dhankhar last month, is scheduled for September 9. The last date for filing nomination is August 22.
WHO IS CP RADHAKRISHNAN?
Born on October 20, 1957, in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur, CP Radhakrishnan is a garment exporter and industrialist, who pioneered knitwear exports from his birthplace. He belongs to the Gounder-Kongu Vellalar community, which is classified in the other backward classes (OBC).
If he becomes the vice-president, he will be the second from the OBC community to be President or vice-president, and the third vice-president from Tamil Nadu.
Radhakrishnan has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and started as an RSS swayamsevak at the age of 16, following which he became a state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974.
He was appointed the secretary of the BJP in Tamil Nadu in 1996 and elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Coimbatore in 1998. He was re-elected in 1999; both times he won with massive vote margins.
Between 2004 and 2007, he served as the Tamil Nadu BJP president. During his stint, he undertook a 19,000-km ratha yatra that lasted for 93 days to highlight his demands for the linking of all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, removing untouchability and combating the menace of narcotic drugs. From 2020 to 2022, he was the all-India incharge of the BJP for Kerala.
Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the governor of Maharashtra on July 31, 2024. Before that, he served as the governor of Jharkhand from 2023. As the Jharkhand governor, he was appointed by the President to discharge the functions of the Telangana governor and as the lieutenant governor of Puducherry.
In 2004, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly as part of the parliamentary delegation. He was also a member of the first parliamentary delegation to Taiwan.
In 2016, he was appointed as the chairman of the Coir Board, Kochi, a position he held for four years. Under his leadership, coir exports from India reached an all-time high of Rs 2,532 crore.
An avid sportsperson, Radhakrishnan was a college champion in table tennis and a long-distance runner. He also enjoyed cricket and volleyball. He has travelled far and wide, having visited countries like the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Turkey, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Egypt, UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Japan.
Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st…Read More
Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st… Read More
view comments
Read More
