Ram Lal goes back to RSS after 13-yr stint in BJP

New Delhi, July 13

Bharatiya Janata Party's general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal has been sent back to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after serving one of the longest tenures in the key post.

He held the post—considered the second most powerful position in the BJP after its president—since 2006 after his predecessor Sanjay Joshi was removed under controversial circumstances.

The decision was taken at a meeting of 'Sangh pracharaks' at Vijaywada. The  'sangathan mantri', is  an important post, acting as a bridge  between the BJP and the RSS, it's ideological fountainhead

A full-time RSS 'pracharak' is appointed to the post who works on deputation in the BJP  

Ram Lal will now function as the 'seh sampark pramukh' (co-convenor of all-India public relations).

In the past Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sanjay Joshi, Govindacharya and Kushabhau Thackray have held the  postion.

Four joint general secretaries (organisation) working under Ram Lal—V Satish, Saudan Singh, Shiv Prakash and BL Santhosh— are in contention for the important post Satish is the most likely candidate for the post

Kumar said it is a "routine practice" to transfer the Sangh full timers. The general secretary (organisation) post has always been held by a functionary of the RSS, ideological parent of the BJP, as it allows the Hindutva organisation to have a key say in the party's organisational affairs and makes for better coordination between them.  Ram Lal's tenure was marked by smooth coordination between the RSS and the BJP. He shunned publicity and his low-key style was in sharp contrast to the functioning of his predecessors like Joshi and K N Govindacharya. 

It ensured him an over 13-year-long tenure in the BJP after both Joshi and Govindacharya were summarily removed amid controversies. Joshi was removed in 2005 after his rivals within the party cited an objectionable CD.  Govindacharya, Joshi's predecessor, was earlier axed following his reported comments that mocked the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpaee. With PTI