India, Aug. 19 -- Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan, 68, will very likely be the next Vice-President (VP) of India, considering that the National Democratic Alliance has the numbers to get its nominee elected to the office. Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu and twice a Lok Sabha MP, is an interesting choice; and his political career is in sharp contrast to his predecessor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned unexpectedly in late July. Unlike Dhankhar, who was a late entrant into the BJP after having worked in the Janata Dal and the Congress, Radhakrishnan's political grooming was in the RSS (starting in his teens) before he moved to build the BJP organisation in Tamil Nadu when the political climate in the state was unfriendly to the party. The VP's is a post rich in symbolism, and hence, the choice for the office is important from the perspective of political optics. In this respect, Radhakrishnan ticks many boxes for the BJP (the party has said its allies are on board with its pick). One, he is a party insider with strong ideological moorings and discipline, having been involved in organisational work for many years. His entry into electoral politics in the 1990s coincided with the expansion of the NDA in Tamil Nadu, which appeared out of bounds for the BJP, a party seen as the antithesis of the Dravidian ideology. Radhakrishnan was elected to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore, an industrial city, in 1998 and 1999, with the support of the AIADMK and DMK, respectively, which suggests an ability to negotiate political contradictions. While he lost in 2014 and 2019, he still ended up with almost a third of the votes cast. Two, the choice of a Tamil for an important constitutional post should serve the BJP well when elections take place in the state next year. It could defuse the DMK's charge that the BJP is prone to ignoring the interests of Tamils. Three, Radhakrishnan belongs to the Gounder caste, an OBC community, with significant political and economic influence in western Tamil Nadu. It may also help the BJP firm up its alliance with the AIADMK, which is strong in western Tamil Nadu: AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswamy, also a Gounder, has already welcomed Radhakrishnan's nomination. Four, it could help the BJP at a time OBC consolidation is gaining traction in national politics - Dravidian politics itself is centred on OBC empowerment. Politics apart, Radhakrishnan's likely ascent to the VP's office enhances regional diversity in high public office: Southern India has been relatively under-represented since Venkiah Naidu demitted office as VP in 2022. That said, Radhakrishnan will need all his parliamentary and political experience to conduct the Upper House....