THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior RSS leader Mundod Ganesh, 43, is the new organizing general secretary of the BJP. BJP national president Amit Shah appointed him after removing K. R. Umakanthan. Mr. Ganesh, who hails from Kasargod, has been serving as the prantha prachar pramukh of RSS for the last six years.
Mr. Ganesh, who was a full-time RSS pracharak for 20 years, has previously worked as pracharak in Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, dealing with media relations. He had also served as the office-secretary of Madhava Nivas, RSS state office at Elamakkara, Kochi.
He will take over his new role at Krishnanjali, the rented office complex of the state BJP at Kunnukuzhy here, on July 25. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan will inaugurate the temporary office of the party as Mararji Bhavan is to be demolished for a new building.
Mr. Umakanthan had camped in New Delhi last week to ensure a seat for him in the BJP which went in vain. He had courted controversy within the party due to his close association with former state BJP president V. Muraleedharan. Party sources told DC that national BJP and state RSS leaderships were not keen to give Mr. Umakanthan another tenure.
“Umakanthan as organising general secretary, BJP election committee convener Mr. Muraleedharan and BJP state president had absolute control over the election funds released by the central BJP leadership,” said a top BJP leader. Mr. Umakanthan was hoping for a promotion as Kshetriya Karyakari Sadasya in charge of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
He was appointed during senior BJP leader P. P. Mukundan’s tenure almost a decade ago. But Ganesh’s posting has come as a big blow to K. Subhash, the second general secretary in the BJP nominated by the RSS. Subhash, another loyal man of Muraleedharan, was expecting to take over the role of Mr. Umakanthan.
