Ahead of the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election, the age of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are in discussion after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Narendra Modi would retire next year after turning 75. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, said the Congress will get fewer seats than the age of its shahzada (prince) — Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP either won’t get many more seats than the age of the prime minister as well, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said adding that Narendra Modi’s age is interesting for other reasons which Amit Shah can explain better.
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What is the issue over Narendra Modi’s age? Explained
In his first rally after coming out of Tihar, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said voting for PM Modi this election would actually mean voting for Amit Shah as the prime minister as Narendra Modi would turn 75 in 2025 and retire from politics going by the party rules. BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, dismissed Kejriwal’s speculation and said Narendra Modi would complete his term as it is not written anywhere in BJP’s constitution that he can’t be the prime minister after turning 75.
The issue snowballed into a political controversy as the Aam Aadmi Party shared Amit Shah’s old video and asked whether an exception would be made for Narendra Modi as Lal Krishna Advani, Sumitra Mahajan, and Murli Manohar Joshi were not allowed to contest the election after they became 75.
Shashi Tharoor said the country won’t have to wait till September 2025 to get a new prime minister. “A new government will come to power at the Centre in June. There is no need to wait till September 2025,” Tharoor said.
The issue over Rahul Gandhi’s age: Explained
The Congress would get fewer than 53 seats in the election, PM Modi said on Saturday and then repeated the statement on Sunday in West Bengal. He said Congress will get fewer seats than the age of shehzada (Rahul Gandhi).
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