From Party to Personality: BJP’s Cult-Building Around Modi at 75

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 75, the BJP amplifies his image as a political icon, banking on his mass appeal for long-term electoral gains—though India’s tradition of cult politics long predates him.

By MANISH ANAND

NEW DELHI, September 17, 2025 — Indian newspapers on Wednesday morning announced that the cult worship is now at the core of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre. Advertisements hailing leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi banished news items onto margins. Modi has turned 75 years of age to mark a personal milestone, while the BJP seized on opportunity to further solidify cult worship trends in the Indian politics.

US President Donald Trump sent cheers in ranks of the BJP with a phone call to Modi to wish him on his birthday. This suited the BJP the most after months of Trump-led brickbats on trails of India-Pakistan ceasefire.

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat had already set the stage for grand Modi birthday celebrations. Bhagwat had almost announced that age is a state of mind. He actually said that there existed no age ceiling on holding posts. Bhagwat and Modi are on same age boat, powered by 75 HP engine.

Modi retirement from politics had anyway been a wild hallucination of his detractors. He remains the sole vote catcher of the BJP. Already, Modi has been in midst of electioneering blitzkrieg, from   Assam to West Bengal and from Gujarat to Bihar.

Modi also stays above any competition within the BJP. The middle class support base of the BJP recently woke up to know that ethanol-blending of fuels may harm their wheeled beauties, while stock market valuation gains of a firm owned by Nitin Gadkari continue to trend on the social media.

The BJP has been without a political icon since the party was founded in 1980. Efforts were made to turn late Atal Bihari Vajpayee into an icon at par with late Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. But initial euphoria soon transformed into boredom within the party. Modi is the BJP’s answer to the Congress’ Nehru and Indira icon treasure.

Icons who can emotionally connect help in winning elections. The Congress counted votes in the name of Nehru and Indira for decades until the generations who worshipped them lost numerical strength. Late Rajiv Gandhi failed to become an icon, possibly due to Bofors scam.

In Modi, the BJP sees an icon who has all the attributes to help the party fetch votes for years and decades ahead. The cult worship in the Indian politics anyways is not a Modi gift.

(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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