After Modi, who? Modi himself for now!

Bengaluru: A couple of months ago, Mohan Bhagwat, the all-powerful Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, the mentor organisation of the ruling BJP, burst a bomb shell remarking, ‘‘when you turn 75, you should stop and make way for others’’.

Many including leaders of the rival Congress party, interpreted it as a signal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi - who will turn 75 in a month or so on September 17, to call it a day and make way for others.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had previously made it clear that Modi will continue as Prime Minister even after 75, and that there is no such age bar within the BJP’s working rules. But then, this is a subject one just can’t stop speculating on.

Who would be the heir apparent if Modi decides that enough is enough and wants to hand over the baton to a younger leader? And what would be the criterion the BJP and RSS would adopt to select the next prime minister?

Deciphering the hints emerging from the saffron organisations, which closely guard their secrets, is extremely difficult. Going by the seating order in Parliament, it is 74-year-old Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who sits next to the PM, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah sits next to him.

Then comes the irrepressible Nitin Gadkari, and so one can take a chance and assume that these three leaders are ahead in the race if the BJP is looking for a new PM candidate. Interestingly, all three are for mer BJP Presidents.

While Rajnath is a former CM of Uttar Pradesh, Shah and Gadkari have served in state governments before being elevated to the Centre. While Rajnath has been basking in the glory of Op Sindoor, Gadkari has been receiving awards-not one but two in recent weeks.

He received the Chintamanrao Deshmukh National Award for public service in Delhi while NCP-SP supremo Sharad Pawar handed over the Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2025 to him on August 1, honoring his contributions to ‘Swadeshi’ and national road development.

Shah on the other hand is likely to have the backing of the PM if he is shortlisted for the post though among the three contenders, he is the youngest at 61. There are others-like saffron clad Yogi Adityanath, the popular CM of UP, whose name has often done the rounds as a Modi successor.

But then the supreme question is whether Modi is going to retire soon. Eminent columnist and editor Shekhar Gupta does not feel so. 'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029…

He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Gupta, writing in The Print. It is a view many analysts would tend to agree with much to the disappointment of young er aspirants for the coveted post. On September 11, Bhagwat will turn 75.

And if he decides to retire, it could trigger a fresh debate about Mr Modi. There are no challengers in sight now but who knows what the future holds?