Nagpur, Mar 21 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RRS) chief K S Sudarshan today announced his retirement from the post of party chief, paving way for Mohan Bhagwat''s elevation to the top post.

Sudarshan''s decision came as a three-day conclave of the RSS has begun here to chalk out the strategy for the upcoming general elections.

Kuppahalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan was nine when he first attended an RSS shakha. He was appointed as a pracharak in 1954.

Only full-time members of RSS can become pracharaks. His first posting as a pracharak was in Raigarh district. In 1964, he was made the prant pracharak of Madhya Bharat at a fairly young age.

In 1969, he was appointed convener of the heads of All-India Organisations''. This was followed by a stint in the North-East (1977) and he took over as the chief of the Boudhik Cell (the RSS think-tank) two years later.

Since 1990, Sudarshan has been a joint general secretary of the organisation. He has the rare distinction of having held both posts of sharirik (physical exercises) and baudhik (intellectual) pramukh (chief) on different occasions. (ANI)