PM Modi is always 3X the next person, he has longevity: Annamalai

New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown during the poll campaign that he is always "3X" the next person, including much younger rivals like Rahul Gandhi, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai has said, asserting that one can discuss "what after Modi" only when someone better in hard work and popularity comes along.

"He (Modi) is far superior to anybody in terms of fitness, mental attitude. So he is there for a long time," the BJP's firebrand and popular Tamil face said in an interaction with PTI editors here.

Annamalai, who has contested the Lok Sabha election from Coimbatore, spoke of the high number of rallies, travel and interviews Modi has been part of during the ongoing campaign.

The former IPS officer made the comment while referring to the recent claim by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that Modi will step down after he turns 75 next year.

Kejriwal kicked up a political row with his claim that Home Minister Amit Shah will take over from Modi, a suggestion immediately rebutted by the former BJP president and other senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda.

"I really don't understand Kejriwal ji or Rahul Gandhi ji suddenly talking about 75... There is nothing in BJP's constitution to say somebody should retire at 75. And if you look at Modi ji's age and work, he has done three times more than what Rahul Gandhi ji has done this time," he said.

"If you look at everything, he is always 3X of the next guy. And you cannot compete with Modi ji. He is far superior to anybody in terms of fitness, mental attitude. So he is there for a long time. You will groom enough number of leaders and our country will never have a problem in 2029 also," he added. In this context, the young leader, who will turn 40 on the day of the Lok Sabha poll results on June 4, drew a parallel with former Indian cricket team captain and Chennai Super Kings's iconic superstar M S Dhoni, who continues to enthral fans at 42.

"I always keep this example which is very close to me. I would love to see Dhoni coming back and playing IPL 2025. People might say, oh he is 43. What did Dhoni say, sir? Till the next guy beats me in the field, I will not retire to him then. In a 22-yard cricket pitch, you bring somebody who can run a better single than me. Then you ask retirement question," he noted.

"Now again I am telling press friends here, you give me a better guy than Modi ji, then we will talk about what after Modi ji. A guy who can work more than Modi ji, a guy who can travel more than Modi ji, a guy who can sleep less than Modi ji, a guy who is more popular than Modi ji," he said. He also criticised personality-based politics, as seen in his home state, for its lack of accountability and stressed that Modi is a "hardcore" organisation leader who treats every party colleague as a "karyakarta" and is bringing forth a new line of leadership, witnessed recently in states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Claiming that a party like the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu is run by a few families and "contractor" in charge of different regions, he said.

"In our party that is not the case. The BJP has made sure that enough leaders are on the ground," he said.

Also, senior leaders like Nadda and Rajnath Singh are accessible to all, and are not surrounded by a coterie that prevents ordinary karyakartas from meeting them, he said.

There are over 70 Union ministers and can anybody say that someone in particular is the prime minister's brain or that these three people run the party, he asked.

"100 per cent no," he added.

Modi is a big votary of grooming leaders and the role of organisation, he said, adding that the prime minister often emphasises on these aspects in the party's internal meetings. With the prime minister's appeal powering the BJP's campaign in state and national elections, Annamalai said it is not his fault that people adore him.

"It is not Modi ji's fault if somebody will say I don't like your MP but I am going to vote for Modi ji because I want Modi ji." PTI