Maharashtra Governor and veteran BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President of India on Tuesday. The BJP leader won the election with a margin of 152 votes over the opposing I.N.D.I. alliance leader B. Sudershan Reddy.
Following his victory, a video of CP Radhkarishnan’s mother, Janaki Ammal’s reaction to her son becoming the Vice-President, went viral on Wednesday. In the video, Ammal can be heard rejoicing in the announcement of her son’s election.
“When my son was born, the then-President Radhakrishnan was in office. He was a teacher, and I too was a teacher. In his memory, I named my son after him. Of course, back then, I had no clue he (CP Radhakrishnan) would actually go on to become the president,” the VP-elect’s mother told reporters.
Ammal reveals her son called her the day he filed his nomination
Ammal stated that they (she and her husband) had not thought about their son becoming the President for a long time after that, even when he had joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“We did not think about it for many years, but by the grace of god, our wishes have finally come true. I would really like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this honour,” Ammal is heard saying in the video.
Amal further revealed that her son, the now vice president of India, had called her when filing his nomination for the post and requested her to pray for his success. “I am very happy for him, we both (Ammal and Radhakrishan’s father) are very happy,” she added.
Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu: Mother of Vice President-elect CP Radhakrishnan, Janaki Ammal says, "When my son was born, the then President Radhakrishnan was in office. He was a teacher, and I too was a teacher. In his memory, I named my son after him. At that time, my husband looked at… pic.twitter.com/DKnoRskKta
— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2025
Looking at CP Radhakrishnan’s political career
Radhakrishnan began his political journey as a student leader and a swayamsevak (volunteer) with the RSS. Twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore in 1998 and 1999, he later served as Tamil Nadu BJP president and went on to hold gubernatorial posts in Jharkhand, holding additional responsibilities in Telangana and Puducherry, and in Maharashtra.
Following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, Radhakrishnan was the NDA’s candidate for Vice President. He was elected with 452 votes on September 9, 2025, defeating the I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s candidate, B. Sudershan Reddy
As the Vice President, he will serve as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament.