Role of ‘Dhankhar factor’ in making CP Radhakrishnan BJP’s choice?

New Delhi: The election of the vice president has been put in motion. The process of reaching an agreement on Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan’s name has also started since the BJP announced him as the NDA candidate on Sunday. The BJP leadership was searching for someone who was fundamentally committed to the Sangh and BJP for the Vice President position after the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. The BJP has stated its faith in Radhakrishnan in this respect.

The BJP has chosen its vice presidential candidate this time around based on their ideological background. After working for the RSS, CP Radhakrishnan went on to become the president of the Tamil Nadu BJP and the governor of Maharashtra. He is now the NDA’s nominee for the nation’s next vice presidential election, according to the BJP.

By placing a wager on the name of CP Radhakrishnan, the BJP has made a significant political move. Radhakrishnan is from a disadvantaged caste and hails from Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur district. In doing so, the BJP has attempted to maintain a non-controversial image for this constitutional position while balancing all caste, socioeconomic, and regional factors.

What made them believe in Radhakrishnan?

Following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as vice president, the “BJP, which is burnt by the milk, wants to drink buttermilk very cautiously.” This is the rationale for the BJP high command’s desire to convey that it wants Sangh-affiliated volunteers and BJP original workers to hold the nation’s most important electoral and constitutional positions. The best candidate for this line of the party is CP Radhakrishnan.

CP Radhakrishnan was a member of the Jan Sangh and has a background in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Radhakrishnan is one of the few BJP politicians whose reputation is regarded as honorable and pure. Despite being in politics for nearly 40 years, he has never been involved in a scandal. In addition to serving as governor for two and a half years, he has served twice in the Lok Sabha. He also has much expertise carrying out parliamentary tradition in this manner. There was no political strife even when he was governor.

What was the ‘Dhankhar factor’?

One thing became certain after Jagdeep Dhankhar’s departure as vice president: the BJP will not attempt the same political stunt as it did in the last election. The BJP was not the source of Dhankhar’s political training or beliefs. After beginning his political career with the Janata Dal, he continued to serve in Congress. He thereafter joined the BJP. Jagdeep Dhankhar became the governor of West Bengal after the Modi administration took power at the federal level.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, and Jagdeep Dhankhar had ongoing political disputes when he was governor. Following this, other instances of friction with the opposition surfaced throughout Dhankhar’s whole term as vice president. The BJP does not want to make the same error again. In this regard, the BJP has accepted CP Radhakrishnan for the constitutional position. He is not only committed to the party’s and the Sangh’s philosophy, but he is also very skilled in carrying out the parliamentary tradition.

Since Radhakrishnan was raised with the Sangh’s philosophy, it is thought that the BJP attempted to convey to its parent group that it is a major player in political choices by electing him.

Will he withstand the BJP’s test?

Political analysts claim that the BJP was searching for a candidate for the vice presidential position this time who would stay out of the spotlight and be able to keep the upper chamber of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) peaceful. Radhakrishnan has a lengthy history of affiliation with the RSS. From Jan Sangh to the BJP, he has been involved in politics for numerous decades. In addition to serving as the party’s state president for Tamil Nadu, he has twice served as a BJP MP from Coimbatore.

Radhakrishnan was named Jharkhand’s governor in February 2023. In addition to becoming the governor of Jharkhand, he was also appointed the lieutenant governor of Puducherry and the governor of Telangana. In July 2024, he was appointed Governor of Maharashtra. During his time as governor of Jharkhand and Maharashtra, there were no significant scandals.

However, when he was the governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammad Khan, the governor of Bihar, had a political dispute with the state administration. The political dispute between the Stalin administration and Tamil Nadu Governor N. Ravi has persisted. The Supreme Court had heard the case. In this regard, Radhakrishnan had no political disputes throughout his tenure as Jharkhand-Maharashtra’s governor. For the last two and a half years, he has held a constitutional position and has not encountered any conflict with either the government or the opposition.

Radhakrishnan is supported by the opposition

The opposition parties’ political hostility against previous Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is well known across the nation; however, since Radhakrishnan took office as the state’s governor, the opposition has not voiced any grievances against him. For this reason, Uddhav Thackeray’s party leader and MP, Sanjay Raut, also seemed to be an admirer when the NDA announced him as the vice presidential candidate. According to Sanjay Raut, CP Radhakrishnan has a lot of expertise, a very excellent demeanor, and is not controversial. I hope the best for him.

One of Tamil Nadu’s most seasoned politicians is CP Radhakrishnan. Throughout his lengthy political career, he has been instrumental in the formation of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. He conducted a 93-day, 19,000-kilometer “Rath Yatra” across Tamil Nadu in 2007 while serving as the state president. He primarily raised awareness of topics like river linkage, terrorism, the uniform civil code, untouchability, and the negative impacts of narcotics during this trip. Even DMK doesn’t mind him because of his personality. For this reason, the DMK has also referred to the NDA’s choice to nominate him as the vice presidential candidate as a wise one.

Radhakrishnan is also a favorite of PM Modi

In Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan shares a neighborhood with Annamalai, the former party president. There was discontent with the BJP in this group when Annamalai was ousted from her position as state president. In this sense, Radhakrishnan’s pick is a component of the endeavor to win over the OBC population and solidify its position in South India. After R. Venkataraman, he would be the first Tamil Nadu politician to hold the position of vice president.

Radhakrishnan has received congratulations from Prime Minister Modi on being selected as the NDA’s vice presidential candidate. He said that during his political career, Radhakrishnan always made an effort to address the societal issues at the grassroots level. He has done a lot of work, particularly in Tamil Nadu. Since he has consistently shown his abilities in a variety of roles, the NDA family thought it only made sense to nominate him for the vice presidential position. Modi stated his belief that, in his capacity as vice president, he would inspire others.