Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 18 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday congratulated Governor CP Radhakrishnan on being announced as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the post of Vice President, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

After returning from Kolhapur, CM Fadnavis went directly to Raj Bhavan and met Governor Radhakrishnan and extended his wishes on the announcement of his candidature.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also declared support on behalf of his party, the Shiv Sena, for Radhakrishnan's candidature. He expressed congratulations, calling the choice a recognition of the Governor's experience and integrity.

In a post on X, Shinde wrote, 'By selecting the Governor of Maharashtra, C.P. Radhakrishnan, as the candidate for the Vice Presidential post, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has duly honoured an experienced, wise, honest, and patriotic personality in the political arena. I declare support on behalf of the Shiv Sena party for the candidacy of Radhakrishnan, who possesses extensive experience in parliamentary work as a Member of Parliament and profound knowledge of administrative work as a Governor. Additionally, heartfelt congratulations for his candidacy for the Vice Presidential post. Given that his victory in this election is certain, I extend my best wishes for a successful tenure as Vice President and for his tenure to be remarkable for the bright future of the country.'

The NDA had earlier in the day announced CP Radhakrishnan as its Vice Presidential candidate for the election scheduled on September 9. The announcement was made by BJP national president JP Nadda after the party's Parliamentary Board meeting in New Delhi.

'At the parliamentary board meeting, we all unanimously decided on the VP candidate, Mr CP Radhakrishna. We discussed the VP candidate with all our alliance party (NDA) earlier as well. We will discuss our opposition party as well to smooth the VP election...' Nadda said.

67-year-old Radhakrishnan's political life started earlier with him being associated with organisations like the RSS and Jan Sangh, taking up student politics. Since then, he has used politics as a medium to serve the public.

He has consistently shown a commitment towards national unity, social reform and public welfare, leading movements that addressed critical social and developmental challenges. His political life started earlier with him taking up student politics. Since then, he has used politics as a medium to serve the public, with over four decades of serving people as a karyakarta.

He won his first election from Coimbatore in 1998 with a margin of 1,50,000+ votes. He later went on to serve as the Governor of Maharashtra. He initiated his political journey through the Jan Sangh at the age of 16 in 1974. In 1996, he became the secretary of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. He was elected as MP from the Coimbatore parliamentary constituency in 1998, in which he won by a margin of 1,50,000+ votes, and was re-elected in 1999 from the same constituency.

In 2006, he was appointed as the state president of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, during which he actively raised social and developmental issues. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the chairman of the Coir Board, under whose leadership the coir export of India reached an all-time high. He also held the prestigious position of Governor for states like Jharkhand, Telangana, Maharashtra and Puducherry.

He is regarded as eminent, knowledgeable and untainted by any legal accusations. He was born on 20 October 1957 in Tiruppur, Tiruppur district of Tamil Nadu. By profession, he is an agriculturist and industrialist. He completed his BBA from V.O.C. College, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.

In his over four decades of experience serving the masses, he has held multiple posts, including State Executive Committee Member, Bharatiya Jan Sangh (1974); Secretary, BJP, Tamil Nadu (1996), MP, Coimbatore Parliamentary Constituency (1998-1999); MP, Coimbatore Parliamentary Constituency (1999-2004); Part of parliamentary delegation to the UN (2004); State President, BJP, Tamil Nadu (2004-2007), Member of the first parliamentary delegation to Taiwan (2014); Chairman, All India Coir Board (2016-2020); State Incharge (Prabhari), Kerala (2020-2022); Governor, Jharkhand (2023-2024) and Governor, Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (2024).

With proven leadership across diverse roles, C.P. Radhakrishnan brings rich political and administrative experience. As chairman of the Coir Board, he transformed India's coir sector, taking exports to a record Rs 2,532 crore.

In his tenure as Governor of Jharkhand, he travelled across all 24 districts within four months, directly engaging with citizens and officials to strengthen governance at the grassroots. He has also made significant contributions in tuberculosis eradication in Jharkhand, Puducherry and Maharashtra. (ANI)