After a stint of 13 years, Ramlal was moved back to the party's parent organisation on Saturday. The General Secretary's post is considered to be the second most powerful position in the BJP after its President.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the BJP said that Santosh has been appointed the party's General Secretary with immediate effect.

Santosh, an RSS pracharak and a specialist on Karnataka, is considered a strong ideologue with vast experience in electoral politics. He hails from Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka.

After serving for eight years as the party's General Secretary (organisation) in Karnataka, Santosh was made the national office bearer in charge of the southern states in 2014.

Santosh will be in a position which normally acts as a bridge between the RSS and the party. His appointment has come at a crucial time when 15 MLAs from the JD(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka have moved the Supreme Court against the Speaker of the legislative Assembly for not accepting their resignations.

Ramlal, 66, has been appointed the RSS' Akhil Bharatiya Sah Sampark Pramukh, or co-convenor, of all-India public relations. He is considered to be rooted to the ground and is known to take organisational meetings routinely.

He was regarded as the voice of the party cadres, especially when it came to addressing their grievances. He also stepped in if there were differences between the senior leaders of the party.