.png)
Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan (born 4 May 1957) is an Indian politician who is serving as the 24th and current Governor of Maharashtra since 31 July 2024. He also served as the Governor of Jharkhand from February 2023 to July 2024, and as the Governor of Telangana (Additional Charge) and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (Additional Charge) between March 2024 to July 2024. He was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore twice. He was also the former state president of the BJP for Tamil Nadu.
Political career
Radhakrishnan has been associated with the organizations like the RSS and the Jan Sangh from the age of 16.
He is a two-time member of the Lok Sabha. He contested as a member of the BJP in the 1998 and 1999 general elections in the aftermath of the 1998 Coimbatore bombings. He won by a margin of over 150,000 votes in the 1998 election and a margin of 55,000 in the 1999 elections.
In 1999, he stated that voters in Coimbatore did not need convincing to vote for the BJP.
In 2004, he stated that the BJP did not stab any party in the back or cause rifts in ties with other parties. He was among state leaders who worked on forming alliances in 2004 after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ended its ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Radhakrishnan later worked with the state unit to forge ties with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the 2004 elections.
He was also part of a parliamentary delegation to the United Nations in 2004. He addressed the 58th session of the UN General Assembly during this visit, on 20 October 2003. He spoke about strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations.
He was the state president for BJP Tamil Nadu from 2004 till 2007. As the president, he took a rath yathra (chariot journey) for 93 days, advocating the linkage of Indian rivers, eradicating untouchability and campaigning against terrorism in India, among others. He covered all the constituencies of Tamil Nadu during this yatra.
In 2012, Radhakrishnan courted arrest in Mettupalayam for protesting inaction against culprits who had assaulted a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist.
He was named the BJP candidate for Lok Sabha from Coimbatore Constituency in 2014, and without the alliance of the biggest parties of Tamil Nadu, the DMK and the AIADMK, he secured second place with over 3,89,000 votes, the highest among the Tamil Nadu BJP candidates, losing by the smallest margin among all candidates in Tamil Nadu. He was named the party's candidate once again for the 2019 election from Coimbatore.
He was a member of the first parliamentary delegation to Taiwan in 2014, representing the Government of India.
In 2020, he was appointed the BJP Prabhari (In-charge) for Kerala. He held the position till 2022.
He was the chairman of the All India Coir Board, which comes under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, from 2016 to 2020. He was a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) from 1998 to 2004 and a member of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for Finance.
Until recently, he was the National Executive Member of the BJP. He is one of the most respected and senior-most leaders of BJP from South India, and is often called the "Modi of Tamil Nadu".
Governor
He was appointed Jharkhand’s Governor on 12 February 2023, and has held the position since 18 February 2023. He succeeded Ramesh Bais.
On 19 March 2024, after the resignation of Tamilisai Soundararajan, he was given additional responsibilities of holding the positions of the Governor of Telangana and the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
On 27 July 2024, he was appointed the Governor of Maharashtra. Jishnu Dev Varma, Santosh Gangwar and Kuniyil Kailashnathan took over the positions of Governor of Telangana, Governor of Jharkhand, and Lt. Governor of Puducherry respectively.
Electoral Performances
He has contested a total of 5 times, and has won in 1998 and 1999.
| Election | Constituency | Party | Result | Vote % | Opposition Candidate | Opposition Party | Opposition vote % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Indian general election | Coimbatore | BJP | Won | 55.85 | K. R. Subbian | DMK | 37.86 |
| 1999 Indian general election | Coimbatore | BJP | Won | 49.21 | R. Nallakannu | CPI | 43.02 |
| 2004 Indian general election | Coimbatore | BJP | Lost | 38.74 | K. Subbarayan | CPI | 57.46 |
| 2014 Indian general election | Coimbatore | BJP | Lost | 37.24 | A.P.Nagarajan | AIADMK | 33.62 |
| 2019 Indian general election | Coimbatore | BJP | Lost | 31.47 | P. R. Natarajan | CPI(M) | 45.85 |
External links
- Official biographical sketch on the Parliament of India website (12th Lok Sabha)
- Official biographical sketch on the Parliament of India website (13th Lok Sabha)
- Profile on Governor of Telangana website (Archived)
References
- "CP Radhakrishnan takes oath as Maharashtra governor". The Times of India. 31 July 2024.
- "C.P. Radhakrishnan takes oath as Jharkhand Governor". The Hindu. 18 February 2023.
- "Santosh Kumar Gangwar sworn in as Jharkhand Governor". Deccan Herald. 31 July 2024.
- "Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan takes charge as Telangana governor". News on AIR. 20 March 2024.
- "Jishnu Dev Varma takes oath as Governor of Telangana". Deccan Chronicle. 31 July 2024. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024.
- "C.P. Radhakrishnan assumes charge of Lt. Governor of Puducherry". News on AIR. 22 March 2024.
- "Kailashnathan sworn-in as Lt. Governor of Puducherry". The Hindu. 7 August 2024.
- ^ "C.P. Radhakrishnan takes oath as Jharkhand Governor". The Hindu. 18 February 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- "Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan - Hon'ble Governor of Jharkhand". Governor of Jharkhand. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Verdict not a surprise, says Radhakrishnan". The Hindu. Coimbatore. 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- "BJP: give scholarship to Hindu students". The Hindu. Nagercoil. 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ "From Tamil Nadu BJP Leader To Governor Of Two States: Know Political Journey Of CP Radhakrishnan". ABP News. 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ Ranjan, Mukesh (19 February 2023). "C P Radhakrishnan takes oath as 11th Governor of Jharkhand". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- KV, Prasad (5 May 2006). "BJP will have to start from scratch". The Hindu. Coimbatore. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- "Key Contests : CP Radhakrishnan vs K Subbarayan". Business Standard. Coimbatore. 1 May 2004. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- "It's the party that sells, not candidates!". Coimbatore. September 1999. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- "It's for DMK to explain,says C.P. Radhakrishnan". The Hindu. Chennai. 13 May 2003. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- "Vajpayee invites BJP leaders to Delhi for talks". The Hindu. Chennai. 14 September 2003. Archived from the original on 27 October 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- "TN BJP invites AIADMK to return to NDA". Deccan Herald. Chennai. 3 January 2004. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- "Statement by Hon'ble Mr. C. P. Radhakrishnan, Member of Parliament and Member of the Indian Delegation at the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly on October 20, 2003" (PDF). Permanent Mission of India to the UN, New York. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- "Raj Bhavan". Raj Bhavan. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- "Two-month awareness yatra by TN BJP chief". The Times of India. 24 June 2003. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- "Normality returns to Mettupalayam". The Hindu. Udhagamandalam. 9 November 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- Madhavan, Karthik (22 March 2019). "Familiar faces to fight it out in Coimbatore". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- "BIO-DATA-Shri.-CPR" (PDF). Coir Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- "Coirboard". coirboard.gov.in. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- "Senior BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan appointed Jharkhand Guv | Northeast Herald". Northeast Herald. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- The Hindu (19 March 2024). "Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan given additional responsibilities of Telangana, Puducherry". Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- The Hindu (20 March 2024). "C.P. Radhakrishnan was sworn in as Telangana Governor". Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- "Jishnu Dev Varma is new Governor of Telangana; Radhakrishnan moves to Maharashtra". Telangana Today. 28 July 2024. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
- "PRESS COMMUNIQUE". President of India. 27 July 2024. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
- "PRESS COMMUNIQUE". President of India. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
| Lok Sabha | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byM. Ramanathan | Member of Parliament for Coimbatore 1998 – 2004 |
Succeeded byK. Subbarayan |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byRamesh Bais | Governor of Jharkhand 18 February 2023 – 30 July 2024 |
Succeeded bySantosh Gangwar |
| Preceded byRamesh Bais | Governor of Maharashtra 31 July 2024 – Incumbent |
Incumbent |