Ending weeks of speculation, the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 15 named Maharashtra Governor and veteran Tamil Nadu leader CP Radhakrishnan as the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the upcoming vice-presidential election.

The announcement came after the BJP’s Parliamentary Board, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met in New Delhi to finalise the choice. BJP president J P Nadda said the 66-year-old leader commands “respect across sections of society in Tamil Nadu” and expressed hope that the election could be unanimous, with the ruling alliance reaching out to Opposition parties.

The decision comes in the wake of Jagdeep Dhankhar’s unexpected resignation on July 21, which cut short his tenure as Vice President citing health concerns. His abrupt exit forced the NDA to move quickly to identify a successor who could bring both stature and broad acceptability to the post.

Over the past two weeks, senior BJP leaders weighed multiple names, including governors, lieutenant governors and outgoing Rajya Sabha members. The final nod, party insiders said, came from the Prime Minister, underscoring both political calculation and the desire to showcase NDA unity.

With the nomination deadline looming, Radhakrishnan’s candidature will now be formally conveyed to alliance partners such as Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP. Party leaders said the filing of his nomination papers and the election itself would be used as a platform to highlight a consolidated NDA front.

Radhakrishnan, a two-time Lok Sabha MP and long-time BJP organizer in Tamil Nadu, is regarded as a seasoned consensus builder. His selection signals the party’s intent to balance regional representation with the need for a steady, unifying presence in the vice-presidential chair.