Since Narendra Modi and Amit Shah took over the reins of the BJP, there has been an unwritten cut-off age of 75 years for contesting elections or being in the government.

Now, the ticket to Raghuvanshi has come as yet another indication of the party’s willingness to relax the unofficial age ceiling. It’s, however, Prime Minister Modi’s unequivocal message about serving a full third term, if the BJP retains power, that has given hope to the party’s septuagenarians who aren’t ready to hang up their boots just yet.

They have pointed out that the PM, who turned 73 earlier this month, has led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre for two straight terms and has been announced as leader of the BJP’s campaign for 2024 as well.

Several BJP MLAs in their 70s ThePrint spoke to said that Modi was their “ideal”, being “still physically fit to lead the nation for a third term”. Likewise, the leaders argued, they too were fit to lead their constituency and should not be denied tickets. A few in their 80s expressed the same hope.

One such ticket aspirant is 73-year-old Premshanker Kunjilal Verma, BJP MLA from Seoni-Malwa seat in Madhya Pradesh. Verma is said to have a hold over the Other Backward Class (OBC) voters in his constituency and is thus optimistic that he will be given a ticket again.

“Age is not the criteria, winnability is. Our ideal is PM Modi, who is not only physically fit and touring one country after another, but also working overnight despite completing 73 years. I too am physically fit and all my senses are working. So, I am ready to fight the election,” he asserted. “We all are taking inspiration from the PM and we have to look after only our constituency.”

In Rajasthan, the ticket aspirants include MLAs Kali Charan Saraf, Pabba Ram Bishnoi, both aged 72, and Vasudev Devnani, 73, a state BJP functionary told ThePrint, adding that the leaders believe they are fit to contest elections and have the winnability quotient as well.

It is, however, understood within BJP circles that the age of retirement from the party is 75 years, which means leaders above this age are discouraged from contesting elections.

The party has in previous elections also denied tickets to veterans such as B.S. Yediyurappa, now 80, in Karnataka, and Eknath Khadse, now 71, in Maharashtra.

The senior ticket aspirants’ demands also come at a time when the BJP is said to be looking for fresh faces for elections.

A senior leader from the Rajasthan BJP admitted that the “induction of younger people in the organisation and electoral field is a conscious strategy to make the party outfit younger”. But, he added, “it is also true that the party can’t use the age criteria to retire competent people”.

“It can’t use two yardsticks for giving tickets. If age is not the criteria for the PM because he is winning, the same logic should be applied to deserving senior leaders who are winning. The criteria should not be applied to shunt out such leaders,” the leader further said.

Satyanarayan Jatiya, a 77-year-old Dalit leader from Madhya Pradesh, who was inducted into the BJP’s parliamentary board last year, that the party had no rule barring those above 75 years of age from contesting elections.