No retirement at 75 rule in BJP, Raut can not decide Modi’s tenure: Bawankule

Mumbai: Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said that there is no rule in the party mandating that a person must retire at 75, and it is the people of the country who would decide Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure.
He dismissed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s claim that Modi visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur to inform that he was retiring, calling the statement 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 said on X, a day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rubbished Raut’s claim.
Bawankule further noted that the Indian Constitution too does not impose any such restrictions.
“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,” he said.
In Indian democracy, a prime minister’s tenure is determined by electoral mandate and public support, not by individuals like Raut, Bawankule said.