The NDA Government's Term which commenced for the second time in 2019 after a successful 5-year run of 2014-2019, ends on 16 June 2024. Our current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who is the leader of the NDA seems to be well-geared to be elected for the third term as well. But what after that? He will be 74 by then and for contesting the 2029 elections, a 79-year-old Prime Minister may not be well-suited for an economy that is on the sprint.
And the politics is well-geared up for that moment, much more than the 2024 elections itself. The opposition although seems to be working on the 2024 toppling of the NDA government. With its various gimmicks and media stories, rumour has it, that it is more the 2029 elections when powerhouse Modi won't be the face of the NDA, is when the opposition seems to have its eyes trained. But BJP surely wouldn't be sitting back in choosing a worthy successor either and there seems to be a fair number of names that are doing the rounds for the next claimant to the throne. Let's take stock of the possible nominees:
Rahul Gandhi
The Congress descendant started the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” recently seeming to have moved the masses across the country. His 'human' touch seems to have evoked feelings that are enough to flood social media with photos and videos adding to his popularity. This surely is making his campaign more successful. Via the Bharat Jodo Yatra which was launched from Kanyakumari, Rahul is interacting with people representing various sections of society, voicing their issues, and connecting with the general public. All this is heading him perhaps into the hearts of the common man. This seems to have impacted the grand old party positively and Mr Gandhi could well be slated to be the Next Prime Minister if not in 2024, perhaps in 2029 when the anti-incumbency winds after three terms of the BJP-led Government could be stronger.
Mamata Banerjee
The three-time Chief Minister of West Bengal has constantly maintained a salvo of protests against the Modi-led Government with consistency over the past 12 years. She too has launched her project for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. TMC and Mamata didi have launched a website named India wants Mamata Di for campaigning for the next Prime Ministerial elections. Landslide victories over BJP in her home state have surely strengthened her national ambitions. How easy would it be to expand the Trinamool Congress' regional footprints and tactics to the national level with the help of her allies, only remains to be seen.
Yogi Adityanath
The twice-elected Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is riding high on Hindutva for a second consecutive term. Yogi has also portrayed his image as the biggest mass leader after Modi and sure seems to be a worthy participant in the Prime Ministerial race. While he may not want to bite his mentor Narendra Modi's hand for the 2024 elections, who is to say he wouldn't call in special favours for the next one? Some say he has taken over Amit Shah after a grand victory in Uttar Pradesh in Modi's eyes as Shah continues to remain the efficient sutradhaar of the NDA play. The work he has done in his state makes him further loved by the public and the saffron robes do endear to the majority.
Arvind Kejriwal
The conveyor of the Aam Aadmi Party and Chief Minister of Delhi is emerging as the National face increasingly on a daily basis. His work in Delhi, the endearment to his vote bank and his regular salvos fired at the central government keep him in the public eye for just as much as it requires to do the job. He launched his campaign Make India Number One aiming towards the elections for 2024 but the 2029 elections seem to have him gunning for the top job with full severity. To a great extent, he draws as much credence and power as PM Modi across the nation when Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Winning Punjab and then a footstep in Goa is slowly but gradually taking AAP towards becoming a national party. The upcoming elections in December in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat could well cover his tracks to take a go at the National Lok Sabha elections in 2024 itself. But firming up the ground for a landslide victory in 2029. This could just be the able replacement we were looking for, with Prime Minister Modi retiring out of his post.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The 'Mama' of the BJP and the big momma of Madhya Pradesh politics, three-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has strived hard to put MP on the nation's map in the past 15 years. Indore has become a rising Startup capital, in line with the Central Government's initiatives and other cities in Madhya Pradesh are soon catching up on being up there on the list for every small and big mission that the Centre runs. The poster boy of the Madhya Pradesh legislature with the tag of being the longest-serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, his credentials are tough to beat and almost seem matching to his big brother, Prime Minister Modi.
It is not strange to note that two of the worthy candidates to replace Modi are within his own faction - but the united Opposition's din has been getting louder by the day. Even though the Opposition claims a close camaraderie, it only remains to be seen how well they would be able to stitch together a cohesive front, good enough to fight the mighty BJP. Fairly possible in that case, that an AAP might just trump a still-broken Congress and a regional TMC to take on the herculean task of leading India post-2029. The 2024 elections will let us know who is capable of doing that, though. We are watching, with bated breath.
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