Is Radhakrishnan’s Pick a Political Masterstroke for BJP?

• The BJP has shifted from the confrontational style of Jagdeep Dhankhar to the inclusive temperament of CP Radhakrishnan.
• Radhakrishnan’s selection signals the BJP’s strategic push for OBC social engineering and expansion in South India.
• Dhankhar’s resignation, officially for health, was reportedly linked to his acceptance of a judicial impeachment motion.

A little over two years after Jagdeep Dhankhar was picked for the post, the BJP has found a successor who is poles apart in temperament and political identity. The choice of C.P. Radhakrishnan, a leader seen as mellow and inclusive, signals a strategic shift from Mr. Dhankhar’s vocal and impulsive style.

Mr. Dhankhar was elevated in 2022 amid the Jat protests, with the move seen as a message to farmers that their community was part of the national power structure. As Vice President, his aggressive and confrontational style, which made headlines during his stint as Governor of Bengal, continued in the Rajya Sabha, where he was seen by the Opposition as a partisan “tough enforcer.” His sharp interventions and legalistic arguments often made consensus difficult.

The selection of C.P. Radhakrishnan, a “thoroughly bred Jan Sangh product,” signals the BJP’s continued reliance on OBC social engineering and its expansion plans in the south, a region where the party has struggled to gain a foothold. Radhakrishnan, unlike his predecessor, comes with stronger ideological moorings with the RSS, having been a part of the ideological mentor since the age of 17. His interventions are described as being centered on his institutional experience and ideological alignment, a stark contrast to Dhankhar’s penchant for controversy.

The abrupt resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, officially citing health reasons, occurred on the first day of the Parliament session. However, it came just hours after he accepted the Opposition’s proposal for the impeachment of a High Court Justice without apprising the government. This action, reportedly seen as a loyalty breach, revealed a string of events that led to the abrupt exit of a leader who had previously proved his loyalty to the ruling party on multiple occasions.

Ultimately, the choice of Mr. Radhakrishnan, whose temperament is seen as a better fit for the constitutional role, sends a signal that the Rajya Sabha needs “balance, not aggression.” Unlike Mr. Dhankhar, who was seen as narrowing politics to caste and region, Mr. Radhakrishnan is expected to broaden it to “national inclusiveness,” sources said, making him a more likely consensus candidate.