After intense speculation over the potential candidate of NDA over the past few weeks after the sudden exit of the incumbent Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, the name of C P Radhakrishnan, presently Governor of Maharashtra has been officially announced. While his ascension to the vacant slot is almost certain, what is interesting is in how the BJP has moved in once again to focus its attention on the southern state of Tamil Nadu, albeit treading a different route and employing a new strategy.

While the obvious answer is that it is eyeing the impending Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu in the coming summer, the known-unknown is why a relatively low-profile Radhakrishnan has been selected to hold the Vice-President post. As far as credentials go, the media has already sketched profiles of the impending V-P tracing his roots from Jan Sangh days to how over the years he has been a silent, efficient and effective party man for BJP despite the party itself failing to create a significant impact in the Dravidian heartland. Firstly, over the past few years, in Chennai, call it Delhi’s daring gambit or ineffective posturing, the party headquarters had reposed its faith on a set of newcomers, defectors and a few who came in from apolitical backgrounds (read Annamalai) to lead the state unit.

Barring manufactured hype and a feel good among the English-speaking media moguls, none of them managed to create a lasting impact to deliver what the saffron party bosses expected, some thing which they managed in erstwhile hostile terrains across the country, smashing rivals who had held power for long in their respective domains. In the case of C P Radhakrishnan, he has had a direct hotline to Delhi over the years as he has been MP from Coimbatore twice, during the Vajpayee era, when he was a very valued leader for the previous BJP bosses.

Very notably, he has had a working relationship with the DMK hierarchy, from its illustrious M Karunanidhi to the current Chief Minister, M K Stalin. Known for his quiet, effective networking, consensual and amiable nature leading to mutually acceptable solutions, Radhakrishnan is the perfect antidote to the recent set of leaders, who had ruffled feathers of the local Dravidian parties and threatened to go alone, to very unimpressive outcomes at the hustings twice in the recent past.

Importantly, with caste being a very important deciding factor, the OBC leader who hails from the Gounder community (like ex- CM and AIADMK leader Edappadi Palani Swamy and Annamalai) is considered to be the appropriate placement. If it is an attempt to mollify the BJP supporters of the community who were sad to see Annamalai being replaced, then one can assume the box would be ticked. It also means the old guard of the BJP which had done all the hard work over decades to reposition the party among the new voters would feel elated as one of their own is now at a position of eminence in Delhi, having the eyes and ears of the top leaders.

While it can be argued that the post of Vice-President is constitutional and free from party bias, the ripple effect of this prospective appointment, one may assume, would be too obvious to be ignored. Already, with the Centre-appointed Governors continuously under attack of acting like agents of the Centre, without attracting such criticisms, the likely new Vice-President may, with his appointment, enable BJP to quietly work behind the scenes to take another serious attempt to wrest power in 2026.