The C P Radhakrishnan You Didn't Know

'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'

'This man has a work ethic that puts most people to shame.'

'His memory is amazing -- it's phenomenal.'

'He's very decent, very gentle, and his entire family is very humble.'

'He's not the kind of person who will enjoy sitting in luxury. He's a man for the masses. He's wedded to their cause.'

'Within this one year and one month, he learned to speak Marathi. Not many words, but he used to start his conversations invariably in Marathi.'

'He remembers God while taking every decision, while signing every paper.'

'He's someone who wins the hearts of the Opposition.'

'Understanding the problem, addressing it, and then guiding the collectors on how to resolve it -- these are his rare qualities.'

'He will not just uphold but elevate the stature of his position with his impartial and decent conduct.'

That in a nutshell is C P Radhakrishnan, the National Democratic Alliance vice presidential candidate, who given how the numbers are stacked will be elected the Republic's 15th Vice President on Tuesday, September 9, evening.

In this as told to Rediff feature, Umesh Kashikar, Public Relations Officer at Maharashtra's Raj Bhavan for nearly 26 years, who worked with C P Radhakrishnan during his 13-month stint as the state's governor, opens up about the man few truly know.

The Businessman Who Became a Politician

You know, in my nearly 26 years as Public Relations Officer at Maharashtra's Raj Bhavan, I've worked with more than ten governors. But when I think about C P Radhakrishnan Sir I can't help but smile. Here's a man who truly surprised me, and I think he'll surprise you too.

Let me tell you about the person behind the political designation, because honestly, even today in politics and public life, it's rare to find people of his stature who genuinely hold values and remain so transparent.

Radhakrishnan Sir took charge as Maharashtra's governor on July 31, 2024 -- so we've worked with him for about one year and one month to be exact. Before that, he spent nearly 16-17 months as Jharkhand's governor. But his story begins much earlier, in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu.

Sir comes from a very distinct family background and built something remarkable before politics even crossed his mind. He had a very huge and highly successful garment export trade with many countries. I'm talking about a major business here -- the kind that establishes you financially for life. But then something interesting happened in 1998.

He contested the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Coimbatore and won! This was a big surprise because he was probably the first person to get elected on a BJP ticket from Tamil Nadu. Imagine that -- 1998, Tamil Nadu, BJP victory.

He won again in 1999 -- a remarkable achievement as he was likely the first person to be re-elected on a BJP ticket from Tamil Nadu, but after that, it became difficult for him to win Lok Sabha elections there.

Now here's something fascinating that most people don't know. You've heard of L K Advani's Rath Yatra, right? Well, Radhakrishnan Sir had also undertaken his own yatra -- a 19,000-kilometre journey across Tamil Nadu! Can you imagine?

He was demanding implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, making India drug-free, connecting rivers in India -- there were some of the major issues he championed during this marathon journey.

A Governor Who Actually Governs

When I say he comes across as a very decent and spiritually inclined person, I'm not just being polite. This man has a work ethic that puts most people to shame. In Maharashtra -- and remember, we have 36 districts compared to Jharkhand's 24 -- he made it a point to visit almost every single district within his short tenure.

But here's the thing -- he never went anywhere just for sightseeing. In Buldhana, for instance, he conducted detailed review meetings with directors and district officials. And I'll tell you something amazing about his memory -- it's phenomenal.

If you meet him today and mention Buldhana, he'll tell you exactly what the problems of that district are. Same with Yavatmal, same with Gadchiroli. He remembers every place he visited because he actually interacted with people there.

He has this habit of understanding problems at the deepest level. He doesn't just ask superficial questions while officials give him presentations. He tries to understand the problem, goes to the root, and then gives directions on how it can be resolved. That's the mark of someone who's worked at the grassroots level of politics and has been genuinely successful in business.

Actually, let me clarify something -- once he entered politics and completed his stint in the Lok Sabha, his business was handled by his eldest son and others. He never went back to it. He also served as chairperson of the textile committee of Parliament, which makes perfect sense given his background.

The Tamil Connection to Maharashtra

You know what's interesting? Radhakrishnan Sir is the third Tamil governor we've had in Maharashtra. We had Dr C Subramanian earlier, and between 1990 and 1993, we also had Governor Dr P V Cherian -- though he was actually from Kerala, he had served as chairman of the Madras Legislative Council, so there was that Tamil connection.

There was also Dr P Subbarayan, but the point is, this connection between Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra in terms of governors has an interesting history.

The Man Behind the Office

How would I describe his personality? He generally doesn't talk too much. To some extent, even while living among people, he maintains his own privacy. He'll meet people, but at one stage he keeps to himself.

He'll interact with everybody to understand matters and officials, but he won't go on talking unnecessarily. In one sense, he is reserved.

But here's what struck me -- he's very decent, very gentle, and his entire family is very humble. I've been lucky to come across such people because sometimes when a person is in a big position, their family members can become... well, you know how it is. But not them. They're all very humble, very nice people. So I'll say we were lucky.

Now, about his daily interactions with staff -- we have a hierarchy, you see. There's secretary for the governor, an IAS officer, and we also have another IAS officer and a secretary in charge of education, because as governor, he's also chancellor of universities. We have 29 universities in the state, and he had regular interactions with vice-chancellors. He made it a point to visit all universities and address their convocations.

So he knows what the strengths of an agricultural university are, what the strengths of health sciences and medical universities are. Like this, he never just sat in Raj Bhavan. He comes from an RSS background and he's the kind of person who will never enjoy the perks of his office.

I'll give you an example: he visited the underground bunker at Raj Bhavan only on his last day when J P Nadda (BJP national president) had come to see him during the Ganesh festival; that was the first time he went inside the underground bunker that so many people come to see. And that was only because he had to accompany his guest.

He's not the kind of person who will enjoy sitting in luxury. He's a man for the masses. He's wedded to their cause. He'll be happy if he can solve farmers' problems.

Learning Marathi, Winning Hearts

Here's something that really touched me. Language could have been a barrier for him -- for any governor who comes from another state. But he made it a point to ensure his speeches were delivered in Marathi.

He learned with the help of his staff, and within this one year and one month, he learned to speak Marathi. Not many words, but he used to start his conversations invariably in Marathi.

One line he learned -- 'aaplya sarvanna bhetun mala khoop anand jhala (I'm very happy to meet you all)' -- he would often recite it and learnt it by rote. But because the scripts are different -- Tamil script versus Devanagari script -- it was challenging for him. Still, he persevered.

And here's the spiritual dimension of the person that I find most wonderful -- he's conscious all the time. He's very alert while signing every paper. You never go to him and find that he's just absent mindedly signing something.

I personally believe that he remembers God while taking every decision, while signing every paper. That kind of spiritual consciousness is what I like most about him.

Handling Challenges with Grace

In Mumbai, there weren't many challenges, to be honest. These issues usually happen when the governor and the state government are from different political backgrounds. Here, there have hardly been any such issues. He had excellent relations with the chief minister (Eknath Shinde) when he arrived.

Then elections happened, and the new chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis) took over -- he maintains very warm and cordial relations with everyone.

Whenever Opposition leaders met him, they came out very satisfied because he gave them a patient hearing every time. He's someone who wins the hearts of the Opposition.

You can speak to Nana Patole (Congress MLA and former state Congress chief), you can speak to Ambadas Danve [Shiv Sena (UBT) leader in the Maharashtra legislative council] to any leader from any political party, and they'll tell you he was a very good listener.

He sympathised with them on issues that needed sympathy and made it a point to convey the government's concerns to the Opposition when appropriate.

I'm sure he'll be very fair and balanced in his new capacity.

Sports, Simplicity, Spiritual Living

What did he enjoy most about his time in Mumbai? Well, he's basically a sports person -- that's another dimension most people don't know about. Now, of course, at 68, he doesn't play any sport, but he maintains good physical fitness through yoga and meditation.

He was a table tennis champion in his college and a very good athlete. So he enjoys excellent health.

He's an avid reader and follows current affairs religiously. It never happened that we went to show him some news and he wasn't already aware of it. He was always ahead of us!

As for food and city culture -- he's not the kind of person who will enjoy fancy food. Food is just sustenance for him, almost like a blessing every time. He's a very happy and content person, satisfied with his regular food. He would never go to hotels trying this and that. Never.

He told us at a meeting that he was non-vegetarian before 2000, but then completely became vegetarian -- very simple living, always.

He attended many cultural events -- painting exhibitions, Bombay Art Society exhibitions. He encouraged art and spoke very highly about Mumbai's culture. But he promoted sports in a big way.

Wherever he went, he made it a point to meet sportspersons from every district. You don't know who the well-known sportspersons in Buldhana district are, right? But he would always reserve one slot to meet them.

He also directed universities that their sports infrastructure should be made available free of charge to national and international sportspersons who wanted to use it.

Because of his industry background, he understood the problems of industry in every district. He would invariably meet representatives of chambers of commerce, MIDC officials, and address their problems. People from Solapur will remember him because he had excellent interactions with the textile industry there.

A Democratic Heart

The qualities I liked most about him -- he's a very good listener.

If I was unable to translate something for him, he would take help from someone else, but he would make sure he understood the problems that people's representatives were raising. Understanding the problem, addressing it, and then guiding the collectors on how to resolve it -- these are his rare qualities.

In India, agriculture and industry are two very important sectors, and his understanding of both is remarkable.

Even recently, when Tamil Nadu's chief minister (M K) Stalin was not keeping well, Radhakrishnan Sir went to see him. So he maintains excellent relations across the political spectrum.

The Vice President India Needs

How good a Vice President will he make? Numbers aside (the NDA has a majority -- they have 425 members and need only 391), I think he's a democratic person by heart. As I mentioned, he's a very good listener and has maintained excellent relations across the political spectrum.

He'll be a very acceptable, approachable person. And I think he will not just uphold but elevate the stature of his position with his impartial and decent conduct.

You know, thankfully we have had such a governor, and hopefully, we'll have him as Vice President. I'm very delighted that good people are being noticed, that they are getting recognition.

In all my years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you that C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.

In an age where values in public life seem to be disappearing, here's someone who proves that principled leadership is not just possible -- it's effective, it's dignified, and it's exactly what our democracy needs.