PM Modi to host dinner for NDA MPs on September 8, day before VP election: Sources

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a dinner for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs on September 8, a day before the Vice-Presidential election on September 9, according to a senior NDA leader.

According to a senior NDA leader, "PM Modi will host a dinner for NDA MPs on the eve of the vice-presidential election. Such interactions have always proven fruitful in strengthening unity and nurturing bonds within the alliance."

The leader further added, "While our candidate, CP Radhakrishnan, enjoys the full support of all NDA partners, the dinner will help ensure complete coordination and unity among MPs during the voting."

The election will be conducted through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. To be declared elected, a candidate must secure more than 50 per cent of the valid votes polled.

The NDA has fielded Maharashtra Governor and BJP veteran CP Radhakrishnan, who hails from Tamil Nadu, as its nominee. The opposition has put forward former Supreme Court Judge Justice Reddy from Telangana as its joint candidate.

The contest is being seen as a "south versus south" battle, with both candidates representing southern states.

Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, the Maharashtra Governor since July 31, 2024, had earlier also served as the Governor of Jharkhand, Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Radhakrishnan, who served as the two-time MP from Coimbatore, was born on October 20, 1957, in Tamil Nadu's Tirrupur. The BJP stalwart from Tamil Nadu achieved a bachelor's degree in business administration and became the state committee member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the BJP's precursor, in 1974.

Before the Jan Sangh, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In the year 1996, Radhakrishnan was appointed as the BJP Tamil Nadu secretary, following which he was elected as a Lok Sabha member from Coimbatore in 1998 and reelected again in 1999.