New Delhi, Sept. 12 -- Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader with strong RSS roots, was sworn in on Friday as the 15th Vice President of India, succeeding Jagdeep Dhankhar who resigned on July 21. At 67, Radhakrishnan also assumes charge as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Radhakrishnan secured a decisive victory in the vice-presidential election, winning 452 votes against Opposition candidate B. Sudershan Reddy, who polled 300. Calling his election a triumph of "nationalistic ideology," he vowed to work for India's transformation into a developed nation by 2047.

The Tamil Nadu leader, described as a "soft-spoken and non-confrontational" politician, is the third person from his state and the first OBC lea...