AGENCY
NEW DELHI, Apr 1
Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule dismissed Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s claim about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s retirement, saying there is no rule in the BJP mandating retirement at 75 years.
“Sanjay Raut’s statement is merely a political stunt. There is no rule in the BJP that Modi should retire from politics after 75, nor has there been any such decision, ” Bawankule tweeted on his X handle on Tuesday.
Bawankule stated that the Indian Constitution does not impose any age limit for the prime minister’s tenure and cited examples of other politicians. “Former BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as prime minister till the age of 79, while Morarji Desai (83) and Dr Manmohan Singh (81) also held the position beyond the age of 75. However, Raut, blinded by his animosity towards the BJP, seems to have forgotten this,” Bawankule stated.
He stated that in a democracy, a prime minister’s tenure is decided by electoral mandate, and not by individuals like Raut. “The people of this country will decide Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister, not Sanjay Raut or the opposition,” he added.
However, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, reiterated here on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to retire soon and he is merely “a temporary arrangement”. He cited Modi’s visit to the RSS headquarters in Reshimbagh, Nagpur on Sunday, March 30, in this context.
“Modi being prime minister is only a temporary arrangement. Even Lord Ram and Lord Krishna left after completing their work. Lal Krishna Advani was kept locked away like Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan while Modi became Prime Minister. Today’s BJP has reached the peak of its power due to leaders like Advani, who worked for decades. Advani had the rightful claim to be prime minister, but he was sidelined like in a Mughal style takeover,” Raut told media persons at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Devendra Fadnavis is not an RSS leader, he is the Maharashtra chief minister but this is a matter of the entire country, and not merely of Maharashtra alone. Devendra Fadnavis cannot decide this. It is not in his hands. The RSS is the parent organisation of the BJP and the RSS elders alone will decide the future course of action. If Fadnavis has to be told even what the RSS means in politics, then he is a fake RSS volunteer. The term of the BJP president has ended, but they have not appointed a new president yet. The RSS has a crucial role in this matter. So, something is cooking behind the scenes,” Raut said.
“After ten years, the prime minister, who was once a Sangh (RSS) pracharak (organiser), used to work in the RSS office, goes there for the first time after becoming the prime minister. He was summoned. There must be some important work. The prime minister himself has made the rule that after completing 75 years, no one will remain in a position of power.
This rule was applied to Lal Krishna Advani. This rule was applied to Murli Manohar Joshi and Thawar Singh Gehlot.
This was applied to many people. The prime minister himself will have to follow it. This has definitely been discussed at the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur,” Raut said.
“The Sangh also wants its man to be the BJP president. BJP’s national president has not been elected yet, JP Nadda’s term has ended, there has been a discussion about that. Top RSS leaders want to get their man there because there is a complete mess in the country. This is going on and will continue. The rules Modi has made, he will have to follow them for himself as well,” Raut said.
Speaking to media persons in Nagpur on Monday, Fadnavis had said, “In 2029, we will see Modi as the Prime Minister of India once again. There is no need to search for his successor. He (Modi) is our leader and will continue. Discussing succession when the leader is still active is inappropriate in Indian culture”.
“In our culture, when the father is alive, it is inappropriate to talk about succession. It is a Mughal tradition when children think about succession even when the father is alive. The time has not come to discuss it,” Fadnavis said, referring to Raut’s claim on Monday that Modi’s successor would come from Maharashtra.
Raut had claimed earlier on Monday that the Sangh (RSS) is preparing to choose Modi’s successor. Raut claimed that Modi will be asked to step down after he turns 75 years, in line with the BJP’s “unwritten retirement rule”. He said that the Prime Minister never visited the RSS headquarters in the past 11 years but did so on Sunday. PM Modi turns 75 in September this year.
“Modi’s successor will be from Maharashtra and RSS will decide about it. PM Modi visited RSS headquarters to discuss his retirement plans. RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and the entire Sangh Parivar want a change in the country’s leadership. Now Modi’s term is over. The RSS now wants to have a presence in the country. It also wants a say in electing the BJP national president. Therefore, Modi went to the RSS headquarters to see off and say that he is leaving,” Raut had claimed.
The statement led to the opposition questioning if Modi too would step down like other top BJP leaders, after he completes 75 years in September this year.
However, though Fadnavis refuted Raut’s claims about Modi’s impending retirement, it sparked off speculation about whether Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is from Nagpur and is also seen as being close to the RSS, would replace Modi, if at all anything like what Raut claimed comes close to becoming a possibility.
It is being speculated that Nitin Gadkari who was born on May 27, 1957 and is 67-years-old, could be a factor, which could possibly help his case just in case, the RSS probably decides that anybody who is above 75 years old must step down from power.
According to the speculations doing the rounds in political circles, if such a consideration gains momentum, PM Modi, who will turn 75 in September this year, would be seen as being in a position of disadvantage. Needless to say, Sanjay Raut’s claim that “Modi’s successor will be from Maharashtra” is the basis behind all such speculation, which failed to die down despite Fadnavis refuting any possibility of Modi’s retirement after he turns 75 years in September this year.
Political circles noted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had stated before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that the BJP had decided not to field any candidates above the age of 75. “No one above 75 has been given tickets. This is the party’s decision,” Shah was quoted as saying while campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
It was also reported in 2019 that during a parliamentary board meeting, the BJP leadership was ready to sacrifice policies like denying seats to candidates over 75 years old to prioritise “ winnability”.
Later, Amit Shah changed his stance in May 2024 and said, “I want to clarify that there is no such provision in the BJP’s constitution and Modi will lead the country till 2029 and he will also lead the coming elections”.
These points are being talked about in Maharashtra’s political circles, due to Raut’s statement and its immediate rebuttal by Fadnavis.
