C.P. Radhakrishnan sworn in as the 15th Vice President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha on Friday. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, administered the oath of office to him at a swearing-in-ceremony held at Ganatantra Mandap of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

After the swearing-in, Radhakrishnan visited Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. He also paid tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Sadaiv Atal, to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya at his memorial on the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and to former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh at Kisan Ghat.

Radhakrishnan was elected to the post when he defeated B. Sudershan Reddy earlier this week. Mid-term vice presidential elections were necessitated after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned due to health concerns. At the time of the candidature, Radhakrishnan was governor of Maharashtra.

Born on May 4, 1957 in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, Chandrapuram Ponnusami Radhakrishnan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Starting as an RSS Swayamsevak, he became a State Executive Committee Member of the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974. Before entering public life, he had a long and successful career as a garment exporter.

In 1996, Radhakrishnan was appointed secretary of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Coimbatore in 1998 and re-elected in 1999. During his tenure as an MP, he served as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Textiles. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the Consultative Committee on Finance. Additionally, he was a member of the Special Parliamentary Committee investigating the Stock Exchange Scam.

In 2004, Radhakrishnan addressed the UN General Assembly as part of the Parliamentary Delegation. He was also a member of the first Parliamentary Delegation to Taiwan.

Between 2004 and 2007, he served as the state president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. In this role, he undertook a 19,000 km 'Ratha Yatra' that lasted 93 days, highlighting the demands for linking all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, removing untouchability, and combating the menace of narcotic drugs.

In 2016, Radhakrishnan was appointed 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. From 2020 to 2022, he was the all-India in-charge of the BJP for Kerala.

On February 18, 2023, Radhakrishnan was appointed governor of Jharkhand. Within his first four months, he travelled to all 24 districts of the state, interacting with citizens and district officials. He also held additional charge as governor of Telangana and as lieutenant governor of Puducherry.

Radhakrishnan has taken a keen interest in enhancing the quality of and access to higher education. He initiated several steps in the field of tribal welfare, focusing on improving their participation in higher education. He closely monitored the progress of the 'School Connect' programme with Vice-Chancellors of 29 state-funded universities in Maharashtra, encouraging tribal girls and boys to pursue higher education.

An avid sportsperson, Radhakrishnan was a college champion in table tennis and a long-distance runner. He also enjoyed cricket and volleyball.