A month ago, in July, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had said that once a person turned 75, he must stop and make way for others.
Naturally, everyone assumed that he was referring to Narendra Modi who turns 75 in September. Interestingly, Mohan Bhagwat also turns 75 in the same month.
As if in response to this, Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech outlined his vision for the country for the next ‘10 years’, a clear message to Mohan Bhagwat.
On many occasions, the ‘75’ rule has been used in both the RSS and thee BJP to quell or sideline ‘competition’.
Of late, since the 2019 elections when the BJP fell far short of achieving an absolute majority, Bhagwat has been quite vocal in his criticism of Modi.
Of course, it didn’t help that BJP President JP Nadda said that the BJP was capable of fighting elections on its own and didn’t need the RSS anymore.
Now, speaking at the centenary celebrations of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat climbed down from his high position when he said, “I never said I will retire or someone should retire. In the Sangh, we are given a job, whether we want it or not.”
This statement by Bhagwat is seen as an act of compromise that has comprehensively cleared the decks for Modi to aspiring for yet another term as the Prime Minister.
The BJP cannot win an absolute majority on its own without support from the RSS and the RSS can't realise its agenda such as abrogation of article 370 in Kashmir or the Ram Mandir construction without a strong BJP at the Centre.
There is no love lost between Modi and Bhagwat yet both are prudent enough to realise that they need each other for survival. And Modi seems to have drawn fresh blood going by the latest events.
