The BJP parliamentary board on Sunday picked Maharashtra governor and former party stalwart from Tamil Nadu, C.P. Radhakrishnan, as the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate, the choice apparently motivated by the Assembly polls in the DMK-ruled southern state next year.

The election for the Vice-President, necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar last month, is scheduled on September 9. The Opposition INDIA bloc has not announced its candidate yet.

“After consultation with our allies and a detailed discussion, the parliamentary board under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that Maharashtra governor C.P. Radhakrishnan will be the NDA’s candidate for the Vice-President’s post,” BJP president J.P. Nadda told reporters.

Radhakrishnan, who started off as an RSS worker, is a former Tamil Nadu BJP president and two-time Lok Sabha MP from Coimbatore.

His credentials suggest the RSS’s endorsement and also the BJP’s effort to sway voters in the southern state that has remained out of bounds for the party.

“Starting as an RSS Swayamsevak, he became a State Executive member of the Bharatiya Jansangh in 1974. 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 in 1998. He was re-elected in 1999,” Radhakrishnan’s profile on the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan’s website says.

BJP leaders said it would be difficult for the DMK to oppose the candidature of Radhakrishnan, who is an OBC from Tamil Nadu.

Nadda said the BJP wanted the VP to be elected unanimously and had already reached out to the Opposition for support. “The Opposition leaders told us that they would decide on supportafter looking at the candidate,” he added.

“In his long years in public life, Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji has distinguished himself with his dedication, humility and intellect. During the various positions he has held, he has always focused on community service and empowering the marginalised. He has done extensive work at the grassroots in Tamil Nadu. I am glad that the NDA family has decided to nominate him as the Vice Presidential candidate of our alliance,” Modi posted on X.

Radhakrishnan thanked Modi and hailed him as “People’s leader”.

“My heartfelt thanks to our beloved People’s leader, our most respected Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji for nominating me as the NDA Vice Presidential candidate and giving me the opportunity to serve the Nation,” he wrote on X.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut praised the NDA pick but refrained from commenting on whether the Opposition would back him.