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Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the RSS headquarters in Maharashtra's Nagpur on Sunday to “announce his retirement”. Raut also claimed that a ‘closed door’ meet happened to discuss PM Modi's successor adding that the next PM will be from Maharashtra. This is not the first time speculations around PM Modi's retirement has made it to the news.
Will PM Modi retire as he turns 75 on 17 September this year? What Did Sanjay Raut Claim? Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut made a big claim that PM Modi has visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur to ‘announce his retirement’ . He noted that Modi had not visited the RSS headquarters in the past 10-11 years, suggesting that this visit was significant and related to his political future. Sanjay Raut also mentioned that PM Modi might retire at the age of 75, which he will reach in September 2025.
‘No need to search for Modi’s successor’ Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis dismissed Raut's claim, and said that there is “no need to search” for PM Modi’s successor as he will continue to hold the top post again in 2029. CM Fadnavis added: “In our culture, when the father is alive, it is inappropriate to talk about succession. That is Mughal culture.
The time has not come to discuss it.” Meanwhile, senior RSS leader Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji' Joshi who was also in Nagpur said he is not aware of any talk of (PM's) replacement. Does BJP Have Retire at 75 Rule? In May 2024, as India was gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections, speculations arose about whether PM Modi, who was then seeking a third term, would retire upon turning 75 in September 2025 .
However, several key BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, dismissed these rumors. Opposition parties had been reminding voters about the BJP's internal ‘no ticket above 75’ rule. The policy has been in place for several years, with Amit Shah even noting ahead of 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 had told The Week while campaigning for the 2019 elections. It was also reported in 2019 that during a Parliamentary board meeting, BJP leadership was ready to sacrifice policies like denying seats to candidates over 75 years old to prioritize winnability.
However, Amit Shah changed tracks in May 2024 and said, “I want to clarify that there is no such provision in BJP's constitution and Modi ji will lead the country till 2029 and Modi ji will also lead the coming elections." Union Minister Rajnath Singh was asked about the ‘no ticket above 75’ rule that was reportedly established when he was the President of BJP. To this the senior BJP leader had replied: "It was never decided.
You can write in bold letters that no such decision was taken...
I was party president, and I am saying it forcefully that there was no such decision at all. Had it been decided, it would have been mentioned in the party constitution," said Singh. Would Amit Shah Succeed PM Modi? In 2024, right out of Tihar Jail, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that voting for PM Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha election would amount to voting for Amit Shah as Prime Minister as Modi would be set to retire from politics as he turns 75 on September 2025.
However, responding to his comments, Amit Shah said that Narendra Modi would continue as PM for the full term, and the BJP’s constitution did not mention any retirement age. BJP Leaders Who Retired at 75 For the most part, the BJP appears to be abiding by its own policies, with very few party leaders in their early and mid-70s being nominated for elections. Seventy-six-year-old Yogesh Patel was the party's oldest nominee for the Gujarat elections in 2022.
However, several BJP leaders have been retired or eased out of active electoral politics around the age of 75, although the BJP has not officially confirmed a strict "75-year rule." Here are some notable examples: LK Advani: Advani did not contest elections after reaching the age of 75. His seat was given to Amit Shah in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Murli Manohar Joshi: Similar to Advani, Joshi was also did not contest elections after reaching 75 years old. Sumitra Mahajan: Known as "Tai," she was a long-serving MP from Indore but was not given a ticket in the 2019 elections due to her age. Yashwant Sinha: He was sidelined by the party and did not contest elections after reaching the age of 75.
Does Indian Constitution Have an Age Limit For Prime Ministers? The Indian Constitution does not specify a maximum age limit for the Prime Minister of India. The eligibility criteria only require the PM to be at least 25 years old if elected to the Lok Sabha or 30 years old if elected to the Rajya Sabha, along with other qualifications such as citizenship and membership in Parliament within six months of appointment. There is no retirement age mentioned in the Indian Constitution.
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