Vijay Goel deletes Nitish post as 75-plus remark puts Modi in frame

New Delhi: Former Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel deleted an X post on Nitish Kumar on Friday, but not before it triggered a wider political reading far beyond Bihar. 

What began as a comment on Nitish Kumar’s health and his move to the Rajya Sabha quickly drew attention for another reason: Goel’s suggestion that leaders above 75 should voluntarily step away from active politics. 

In the current political context, such a comment was always likely to be read as travelling beyond Nitish and into the BJP’s own age debate.

In the now-deleted Hindi post, Goel wrote that “everyone knows” Nitish Kumar’s physical and mental health is not what it used to be and said it made little difference whether he went to the Rajya Sabha or not. 

He then added that the real debate should be whether, after 75 years of age, a tradition should be established of voluntarily withdrawing from active politics so younger people get an opportunity and senior leaders can peacefully assess their tenure.

On the face of it, Goel’s post was aimed at Nitish and the political noise around his shift to the Upper House. But the sentence on 75 and “active politics” widened the frame immediately. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75 in September 2025. 

Only weeks before that, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had touched off a national political debate when he referred to the idea of stepping aside at 75, prompting Opposition parties to ask whether the principle would apply to Modi as well.

Within the BJP, senior leaders such as L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were long seen as examples of an informal generational shift. 

Yet when Bhagwat’s remarks sparked speculation last year, the BJP pushed back strongly. Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said there was no rule in the BJP mandating retirement at 75. 

Bhagwat himself later clarified that he had never said a person holding a constitutional post should retire at that age.

A remark that may have been intended as a comment on Nitish Kumar’s future was read by critics as reviving a question the BJP and the RSS had already tried to settle: is 75 an internal benchmark, a moral suggestion, or no rule at all?