Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday dismissed speculation about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successor. He insisted Modi would lead India for years ahead, in a sharp rebuttal to claims by Sanjay Raut, an opposition politician from the Shiv Sena UBT party.
Fadnavis, speaking to reporters in Nagpur, dismissed Raut’s assertion that Modi had visited the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday to signal his retirement to RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat.
“In 2029, we will see Modi as the prime minister again,” Fadnavis said. “There is no need to search for his successor. He (Modi) is our leader and will continue,” he added, arguing that raising the issue while Modi remains active contradicts Indian cultural norms, calling it a “Mughal culture” mindset.
Raut, a leader of the Shiv Sena UBT party, claimed earlier on Monday that the RSS, a powerful Hindu nationalist organisation closely tied to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was pushing for a leadership change. “He (Modi) probably went to RSS headquarters to write his retirement application in September,” Raut told reporters, noting that some ruling party leaders retire at 75. Modi will turn 75 in September 2025.
The remarks come after Modi’s visit on Sunday to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, his first as prime minister in 11 years in office. Describing the RSS as the “banyan tree” of India’s culture, Modi became only the second sitting prime minister to visit the site, following Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000, an RSS official told PTI. The visit coincides with Modi’s third term as prime minister.Senior RSS leader Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi, also speaking in Nagpur, said he was unaware of any discussions about replacing Modi, further casting doubt on Raut’s claims.
