New Delhi: NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan has been elected the 15th Vice President of India, defeating Opposition candidate B. Sudershan Reddy. He succeeds Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned abruptly, prompting the polls.

Over 98% of MPs cast their votes, with just 12 out of 781 abstaining. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to vote. Counting began at 6 pm on Tuesday after brisk polling through the day.

A former governor of Maharashtra and Jharkhand, Radhakrishnan is a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu with roots in the RSS. He has also served two terms in the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore and was once president of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit.