India, Aug. 19 -- The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has put the ruling DMK and INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu in a tight spot by urging them to support the nomination of Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan to the post of vice-president. BJP state president Nainar Nagendran on Monday said it was a "historic moment" that Radhakrishnan, "the son of Tamil soil", had been chosen for the VP polls. "This is not merely a political decision, but a proud recognition for all Tamil people. If history records that every party, rising above political boundaries, supported this honour being bestowed on a Tamil leader, it will be remembered as a milestone in healthy politics. Therefore, I sincerely appeal to all leaders and members of the INDI Alliance in Tamil Nadu to rise above party lines and extend their support," he said. The NDA on Sunday announced C P Radhakrishnan, serving as the Maharashtra governor, as its candidate for the vice-presidential poll scheduled for September 9. BJP's ally and Tamil Nadu's principal opposition AIADMK thanked the national party's leaders for choosing a politician from Tamil Nadu as the VP nominee. The DMK has 22 members in the Lok Sabha and 10 in the Rajya Sabha. Even though the NDA does not require their support in terms of numbers, the BJP is appealing to the Dravidian party and its allies (Congress, Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, CPI (M), CPI, etc) to rise above politics and support a Tamilian. Interestingly, Radhakrishnan had met chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin in his Chennai residence, a week ago, on August 11. The leaders at the time had said that Radhakrishnan met him to enquire about Stalin's health since he had been hospitalised for a week and discharged in July. Radhakrishnan hails from the Gounder community in the western region which has historically been the citadel of the AIADMK, where the DMK is gaining ground recently. Radhakrishnan was born in Tiruppur and elected twice from Coimbatore - the only pocket where the BJP has its own support base in the state, which has been successively ruled by either the DMK or AIADMK since 1967. Radhakrishnan's nomination comes at a time when Tamil Nadu faces assembly elections next year and the DMK has been criticising the BJP for being anti-Tamil. The BJP has been trying to make inroads into the southern state and Radhakrishnan's nomination seems to be another outreach to the Tamil population....