New Delhi [India], August 22 : National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate for the post of Vice-President and Maharashtra Governor, CP Radhakrishnan, on Friday met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at his residence in the national capital.
According to a statement from Gadkari's office, the Union Minister welcomed Radhakrishnan and conveyed his best wishes for the upcoming election. BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde was also present during the meeting.
Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, was announced as the NDA's Vice-Presidential nominee.
Before this, Radhakrishnan was felicitated at Union Minister Pralhad Joshi's residence. Various Union Ministers and BJP MPs, including Anurag Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Kangana Ranaut, Rekha Sharma, Kiran Chaudhary, and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, felicitated the NDA's VP candidate for the upcoming elections.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed confidence that he will be an "outstanding" Vice President.
"Along with Ministers, Party colleagues and NDA leaders, accompanied Thiru CP Radhakrishnan as he filed his nomination for the post of Vice President of India. The NDA family is confident that he will be an outstanding VP and will enrich our journey towards national progress," PM Modi wrote on 'X'.
CP Radhakrishnan on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the Vice Presidential elections in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Ram Meghwal were also present at the occasion. Radhakrishnan filed his nomination in the presence of about 20 proposers and 20 supporters.
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, who has been the Maharashtra Governor since July 31, 2024, had earlier also served as the Governor of Jharkhand, Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
Radhakrishnan, who served as the two-time MP from Coimbatore, was born on October 20, 1957, in Tamil Nadu's Tirrupur. The BJP stalwart from Tamil Nadu has achieved a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and became the state committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the BJP's precursor, in 1974.
Before the Jan Sangh, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).In the year 1996, Radhakrishnan was appointed as the BJP Tamil Nadu secretary, following which he was elected as a Lok Sabha member from Coimbatore in 1998 and reelected again in 1999.
The Election Commission had earlier announced that polling for the Vice Presidential election would take place on September 9, with counting of votes scheduled for the same day.
The last date for filing nominations was August 21, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until August 25. The Vice Presidential post fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21, citing health reasons.