Having led the nation for over a decade and now into his third term as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi may not be showing any signs of slowing down yet. However, questions around his likely successor have risen in political circles and in the minds of citizens as Modi approaches his 75th birthday less than a month from now. The BJP maintains that Modi will continue as Prime Minister for the foreseeable future despite the age cut-off of 75 years imposed by the BJP soon after Modi came to power.
The BJP boasts of an impressive top rung of leadership that includes several popular leaders. Do the likes of Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Nitin Gadkari and others have what it takes to fill into Modi's shoes in the event of the latter choosing to hang his boots? The August 2024 edition of the India Today Mood of the Nation Survey offers a glimpse into the minds of the Indian voter.
Amit Shah top choice as successor
As per the survey, Amit Shah is seen as the top choice to succeed PM Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate over other senior BJP leaders like Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath and Union minister Gadkari with over 25 percent of the respondents backing him. On the second spot is CM Adityanath with 19 percent of the people believing that he would be the best bet to succeed Modi. Nitin Gadkari took the third spot with 13 percent of the total votes polled.
Despite emerging as the top choice, the survey showed that fewer people saw Shah as Modi's successor as compared to the previous editions of the survey in February 2024 and August 2023, when 28 percent and 29 percent of the respondents voted for him, respectively. A similar decline was also seen for Adityanath with his support steadily dropping from 25 percent in August 2023 to 24 percent in February 2024 and 19 percent in the latest edition of the survey.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan gains big
Among other leaders seen as a likely successor to Modi as Prime Minister within the BJP are Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan with around 5 percent of the respondents polling in their favour. As per the survey, both leaders have gained popularity since the last edition.
While Rajnath Singh has gained around 1.2 percentage points since August 2024, former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has seen a significant jump, rising from 2.9 percent in August 2023 to 5.4 percent in the latest survey.
The people's preference for Chouhan as the likely successor to PM Modi has seen a sharp rise since his appointment as the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare in New Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections. He received 2 percent of the votes in February 2024 and 2.9 percent in August 2023, the past two editions of the survey, reported India Today.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
