BJP and RSS circles are agog with speculation whether Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat would step down after turning 75 to mount pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow his example.
Bhagwat turns 75 on September 11, and Modi on September 17.
The retirement talk began after Bhagwat this week stressed the need for leaders to step aside gracefully after a certain age to make way for a new generation.
His comments focused the spotlight on the unwritten retirement age of 75 years in the BJP that Modi is believed to have introduced after coming to power in 2014, and employed to retire several party veterans who could have challenged his authority.
Union home minister and party No. 2 Amit Shah has, however, declared the BJP has no retirement age, and none would apply to Modi.
Bhagwat’s comments have come against the backdrop of simmering tensions between the RSS and the BJP over the appointment of a new party president. The Sangh wants a “strong organisational leader” in the post, and not a “rubber stamp” for the Modi-Shah duopoly.
Speaking in Nagpur on Wednesday at the launch of the book, , Bhagwat had referred to a comment by the late Sangh leader Pingle.
“Moropant Pingle said that if you are honoured with a shawl after turning 75, it means that you should stop now, you are old, step aside and let others come in,” Bhagwat said.
“The shawl symbolises respect but Pingle understood its deeper meaning – about a generational shift and a polite nudge to step aside for younger leaders.”
The wider message in Bhagwat’s comment was not lost on anyone, particularly as he had chosen to speak in Hindi while advocating 75 as the retirement age although he delivered most of his speech in Marathi.
“If Mohan Bhagwatji wants Modiji to step aside at 75, he would have to set an example first. If he indeed springs such a surprise, it would put pressure on Modi,” a Sangh old-timer said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh seized on Bhagwat’s remarks to take a dig at Modi.
“Poor award-winning Prime Minister! What a homecoming – reminded by the RSS chief upon return that he will turn 75 on September 17, 2025,” Ramesh commented on X.
“But the Prime Minister could also tell the RSS chief that – he too will turn 75 on September 11, 2025! One arrow, two targets!”
Since neither the RSS nor the BJP has an official retirement age, Bhagwat can remain Sangh chief as long as he wants.
As for the BJP, Shah had as then party president denied nomination for the 2019 general election to many senior leaders, using an unofficial retirement age of 75. Among those axed were party stalwarts L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who had tried to bait Modi last month saying his June visit to the RSS headquarters had been meant to discuss a retirement plan for himself, asked if the Prime Minister would step down after the nudge from Bhagwat.
“Modi forcibly retired leaders like Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Jaswant Singh, citing their age. Let’s see if he follows the same path now. Will Modi retire?” Raut said.
Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said: “Now, the RSS is reminding the BJP after 11 years about the promises it had made (about retiring leaders at 75).”
She added: “Internalconflicts are now public. Nobody knows the fallout ofthis conflict.”
The issue of Modi stepping down at 75 had haunted the BJP in the run-up to last summer’s general election. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that Modi was asking for “400-plus” seats to install Shah as the Prime Minister as he himself planned to retire in September 2025 after turning 75.
Shah and other BJP leaders had rushed to dismiss the claim.
Yet Shah, widely seen as a contender to be Modi’s successor, has been talking about his own retirement these days.
On the day Bhagwat spoke in Nagpur, Shah told an event in Delhi: “I have decided that whenever I retire, I will dedicate my life to the Vedas, Upanishads and organic farming.”
BJP insiders saw this as a reflection of the pressure from the RSS to liberate the party from the grip of Modi and Shah.