New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance's nominee for the upcoming vice-presidential election, was picked after detailed discussions with alliance partners, and the party's ideological fount, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), people familiar with the details said on Sunday. The 68-year-old who is rooted in the RSS ideology is known in the party as a soft-spoken, non-controversial figure, who is also the only BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, to have been elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1998 and 1999. Currently the governor of Maharashtra, a position he has held since July 31, 2024, Radhakrishnan, an OBC from the Goundar-Kongu Vellalar community, was born in Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, where he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration. People close to Raj Bhavan said the Maharashtra governor was sounded out about his possible candidature on Sunday. Having cut his teeth in public life as an RSS Swayamsevak, he rose to become the state executive committee member of the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974. His colleagues said his affability and ability to steer the party without conflict and controversy were the reasons why he was picked to head the state unit in 2004.P7...