VS Kokje elected as VHP's new international president; former Himachal Pradesh governor is close to RSS

Former Himachal Pradesh governor Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje was appointed as the new president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), in what was the first election in over five decades. [caption id=“attachment_4431691” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of newly elected VHP international president VS Kokje. Twitter @ajaathashatru[/caption] Kokje got 131 votes and defeated incumbent Raghava Reddy who could muster 60 votes. In total, 192 delegates of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad were entitled to cast their votes in Saturday’s election in Gurugram. The election was necessitated after the organisation’s members failed to reach a consensus on a new international president. Who is Kokje The former Himachal Pradesh governor is considered to be very close to both the VHP as well as the RSS. Prior to his election to the international president on Saturday, Kokje was the international vice president of the VHP. He also worked as the president of the India Development Council of RSS. Kokje became the governor of Himachal Pradesh from 2003 to 2008 during the Vajpayee government. He was born on September 6, 1939, in Madhya Pradesh. After passing LLB from Indore, Kokje started practicing law in 1964, the same year when Vishwa Hindu Parishad was established. He has also held several judicial posts in his career. In July 1990, Kokje was appointed the judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. In 2001, he was also the judge of Rajasthan High Court. With inputs from PTI