Profile
Shri Chandrapuram Ponnusami (C.P.) Radhakrishnan, took charge as the Vice President of India on 12th September 2025.
Prior to his election as the Vice President of India Shri Radhakrishnan served as the Governor of Maharashtra for little more than one year.
Before being appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Radhakrishnan served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly one and a half years. During this period, he also held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and the Lt. Governor of Puducherry for brief periods.
With more than four decades experience, Shri Radhakrishnan is a respected name in the polity and public life of Tamil Nadu.
Born on 4th May 1957 in Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, Shri Radhakrishnan earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
Starting as an RSS Swayamsevak, he became a State Executive Committee Member of the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974.
Before entering into public life, Shri Radhakrishnan had a long and successful stint as a garment exporter.
In 1996, Shri Radhakrishnan was appointed the Secretary of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Coimbatore in 1998. He was re-elected to Lok Sabha in 1999.
During his tenure as an MP, he served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Textiles. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the Consultative Committee for Finance.
He was a member of the Parliamentary Special Committee investigating the Stock Exchange Scam.
In 2004, Shri Radhakrishnan addressed the UN General Assembly as part of the Parliamentary Delegation.
He was also a member of the first Parliamentary delegation to Taiwan.
Between 2004 and 2007, Shri Radhakrishnan served as the State President of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. In this role, he undertook a 19,000 km 'Ratha Yatra' that lasted for 93 days.
The Yatra was organised to highlight his demands for the linking of all Indian rivers, eradicating terrorism, implementing a uniform civil code, removing untouchability and combating the menace of narcotic drugs. He also led two more Padayatras for different causes.
In 2016, Shri Radhakrishnan was appointed as the Chairman of the Coir Board, Kochi, a position he held for four years. Under his leadership, coir exports from India reached an all-time high of Rs. 2532 crores. From 2020 to 2022, he was the All India in Charge of BJP for Kerala.
On February 18, 2023, Shri Radhakrishnan was appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand.
Within his first four months, he travelled to all the 24 districts of Jharkhand, interacting with citizens and district officials. He also held additional charge as the Governor of Telangana and as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
Since taking charge as the Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Radhakrishnan has traveled across the length and breadth of Maharashtra. He interacted with people's representatives, officials, business leaders and met the cross section of society.
The Governor took keen interest in enhancing the quality of, and access to Higher education. He took a series of steps in the realm of tribal welfare, focussing on improving their participation in higher education. The Governor especially followed the progress of the 'School Connect' programme with vice chancellors of 29 state-funded universities in Maharashtra to encourage tribal girls and boys to join the stream of higher education.
An avid sportsperson, Shri Radhakrishnan was a college champion in table tennis and a long-distance runner. He also enjoyed cricket and volleyball.
Widely traveled, Shri Radhakrishnan has visited the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Turkey, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Egypt, UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Japan.
