The president of the VHP, which had been at the forefront of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1990s, nominates the international working president, the de facto head of the organisation. Mr. Togadia has held that position since 2011, though he had been the driving force of the organisation since 2003. Mr. Kokje defeated incumbent Raghava Reddy, known to be supportive of Mr. Togadia, getting 131 out of the 192 delegate votes in the elections held at Gurugram. Closely associated with the RSS, Mr. Kokje had also been the president of the Bharat Vikas Parishad and the vice-president of the VHP. With the death of former VHP leader Ashok Singhal, mediating between Mr. Togadia and the BJP government led by Mr. Modi was becoming increasingly difficult.

Source: The Hindu April 14, 2018 16:43 UTC