VHP chooses Kokje as chief, ends Pravin Togadia’s reign

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday got a new international president in former Himachal Pradesh Governor VS Kokje, who defeated the candidate backed by the powerful former working president Pravin Togadia. It was the first time in five decades that voting was held for the post.

Kokje got 131 votes and defeated incumbent Raghava Reddy who mustered 60 votes. 192 delegates of the VHP were eligible to vote in the election in Gurgaon. Togadia, who batted for Redyy, however, alleged irregularities in the exercise.

The election was necessitated after the organisation’s members failed to reach a consensus on a new international president.

Kokje proposed names for the new Central executive team, which were approved the Board of Trustees, according to a VHP statement.

Alok Kumar has been made the VHP working president and Ashok Rao Chowgule the working president (external).

Milind Parande is the new secretary general and Vinayak Rao Deshpande organisational general secretary.

Champat Rai will be the vice-president and Venkata Koteswara Rao the joint general secretary.

After the election, Togadia said they would continue to be the voice of Hindus.

He stressed the need to work together for building a Ram Temple at Ayodhya, getting a law enacted to ban cow slaughter and abrogating Article 370 and 35A.

Article 370 gives autonomous status to Jammu & Kashmir and Article 35A empowers its legislature to define the State’s “permanent residents”, their special rights and privileges.

Togadia alleged that there was an attempt to rig the elections.

It was “shocking and saddening” to see that the VHP has been made to bow before power “not for Hindu wellbeing but for individual whims and fancies of some powermongers”, he said in a statement.

“Hindus all over can clearly see through the dirty political designs in cracking the grand VHP,” he said.