bhagwat-bombshell-tremors-across-political-spectrum

 

 

When the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Sarsanghchalak, the supremo, Mohan Bhagwat suggested that once a leader reaches 75 years of age, he should make way for others, it obviously and understandably did create tremors in the political space across the spectrum. Bhagwat’s voice is heard and taken seriously. Interestingly, he will himself be 75 on September 11. The RSS Sarsanghchalak is appointed for lifetime. In case he applies the thumb rule to himself, which in all likelihood he may, he will set an example and precedent for everyone else.

 

The curiosity obviously is not about his own age, but that of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be 75 on September 17. Bhagwat is not known for making any casual remarks. He does not talk much and when he talks, he is taken seriously. Given the influence and control the RSS exercises over the Bharatiya Janata Party, his “suggestion” did not go unnoticed. Was it a hint to Prime Minister Modi that he must follow the BJP “thumb rule” to retire after 75? The guessing game has already begun.

 

After the Bharatiya Janata Party formed government in 2014 under the leadership of Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate. It benched some prominent senior leaders, including Lal Kishen Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Both of them had fought the 2014 General Elections and were elected to the Parliament.

 

It was for the first time ever for the BJP and after 30 years in the country's parliamentary history that any party had won an absolute majority of its own. While the credit was given to Modi as he had been declared the Prime Ministerial candidate ahead of the General Elections, the contribution of Advani could not be ignored. The huge towering edifice of the BJP that stands so tall today primarily had Advani as its architect and anchor.

 

The new dispensation of ‘2014’ did not find any role for the party veteran, although many thought that he could always have been nominated as the Presidential candidate by the party, after Pranab Mukherjee completed his term. Instead, the BJP opted for a much lesser-known leader, Ram Nath Kovind. In fact there is no comparison with Advani.

 

The party had set up the ‘Margdarshak Mandal’, practically a ‘retirement’ home for its erstwhile political stalwarts. That time 75 years was set as the deadline for the superannuation of the party leaders. The party did follow it up further as no minister above the age of 75 was retained in the government, nor was any leader above 75 years given the party ticket. ‘75 years’ became sort of a “thumb rule” for the party. Even today, there is no BJP minister who is more than 75 years old.

 

Besides being the ideological mentor and acting as the bulwark for the BJP’s huge political edifice, the RSS has always assumed the role of the ‘Ombudsman’ for the party. It has from time to time issued “advisories” in subtle manner, which though are never legally binding, but practically impossible to ignore. Bhagwat has been more proactive about it. After the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, there was a growing clamour for identifying more mosques allegedly built over the temples. Bhagwat intervened, asking everyone “not to try to find Shivling under every mosque”.

 

Modi has been flawlessly quite a successful Prime Minister. Eleven years of his rule have not seen any specific corruption charge against any of his ministers. The country has, by and large, done economically, socially and diplomatically well. The criticism from the opposition particularly the Congress notwithstanding, Modi regime has created a “feel good” factor across the country. There has been complete peace and harmony despite the opposition accusations. That is the reason the BJP won the third General Election in a row under Modi’s leadership. This again is a record that was set in the Nehruvian era when the Indian democracy was just in its formative years and not as robust as it is today.

 

That way Modi has the legitimate claim over the five-year tenure of his third term since he led the party to victory. It goes without saying that if the BJP managed to emerge as the single largest party, with a substantial number of seats in the Lok Sabha falling short of absolute majority by just 32 seats, it is entirely because of Modi. No doubt the contribution of the massive party infrastructure backed by the strong RSS candre cannot be ignored or overlooked, but Modi being the face of the campaign, made it possible for the third consecutive term.

 

At the same time there is a moral issue at stake. If the party has made it a practice to retire everyone, irrespective of the position the leader holds, s/he will have to retire. Can Modi be exempted from this thumb rule? That will be the moral dilemma not only of the BJP but even Modi himself. The statesman like image and persona Modi has cultivated over the years, fighting so much negativity and hostility, including vicious and malicious personal attacks, he will have to make a tough choice as it is obvious that the final decision will be left to him only and everyone will accept it, whether he decides to continue or retire.

 

It is not that the RSS does not realise the importance of Modi and under normal circumstances would like him to continue. But given its history of sticking to principle and always keeping the “organisation above the person”, it is not difficult to guess what the RSS’ stance would be under the current scenario. No matter what its critics may say about the RSS, the organisation has maintained a strict discipline and has never let any individual grow bigger than the organisation itself. In its hundred years history, there has never been a dissident from the RSS as the belief goes, “once a Swayamsevak (RSS volunteer), always a Swayamsevak”.

RSS also knows it too well that benching a leader like Modi, so popular, so influential, so strong and known across the globe, may not be politically correct and advisable. But at stake are also its core values of not deviating from its principles, come what may. If Bhagwat has raised the matter, rather reminded the organisation about the ‘75 years’ thumb rule, he must not have raised it without a reason and without a plan to get it executed without any tremors and turmoil.

 

If the ’75 year rule’ gets applied, it will be an epochal decision and will have a long term and wide ranging impact on the overall polity of the country and not just the BJP or Sangh Parivar, which eventually will stand to gain in the long term.

 

Even the Congress that seems to have already started celebrating the ‘possible exit’ cannot escape the impact. Because, the decision if applied will imply that “nobody is indispensable”, no matter the name, no matter the surname, no matter the pedigree, no matter the persona and no matter whosoever s/he may be. The party may lose even the leftover moral ground to defend the indefensible it has been defending doggedly since 2014, for three consecutive defeats and even trying to search victory in defeat as it did in 2024.