Thane: Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis was on Saturday elected as the new Chief of the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini (RMP), a leading training and research institute that aims on leadership development and socio-political research.

At the meeting of the RMP trust, name of BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) leader won undisputed approval. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Rajya Sabha member and President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, was elected the Vice-Chairman at the RMP's meeting held in Thane on Saturday. On the other side, Bhai Girkar was elected as the secretary while Arvind Rege was appointed as the treasurer. Devendra Fadnavis replaced RSS Akhil Bharatiya Communication head Anirudha Deshpande. RMP has been conferred a special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Since its start in 1982, RMP has trained over 35,000-plus people comprising MPs, MLAs, their associated staff, office-bearers from panchayat, corporates, entrepreneurs, NGOs and the youth in leadership skills.

RMP is a national organisation with its headquarters in Thane district and centres in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi. The organisation works as a training and research centre and reports academic training in leadership growth and voluntary roles among others.

Almost four decades ago, late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan had launched the RMP campus at Uttan village near Bhayandar and also served as its first President. The RMP also holds interactive sessions with newly-elected members of the Parliament and state Legislative Assembly regularly.