Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Amit Shah on becoming the longest-serving home minister of the country and said it was “just the beginning”, sparking murmurs in the BJP about the intended message behind the remark.

Shah, who assumed office as home minister on May 30, 2019, completed a record stint of 2,258 days on Tuesday, eclipsing BJP veteran L.K. Advani’s 2,256-day tenure.

Shah’s record coincided with the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a resolution pushed by him months after taking charge of the key ministry.

Speaking at an NDA parliamentary meeting where he was felicitated for Operation Sindoor, Modi heaped praise on Shah and congratulated him on the record. “Today, I want to congratulate Amit Shahji for becoming the country’s longest-serving home minister. Earlier, our Advaniji held that record and now he (Shah) has surpassed it,” Modi was learnt to have told the closed-door meeting.

“Let me tell you, this is just the beginning,” Modi said, taking a brief pause before completing the sentence. “We have a long way to go from here,” he added, appearing to willfully couch his message with “we” instead of using “he”.

Modi lauded Shah for his “landmark” achievements as the home minister, referring to the abrogation of Article 370, the anti-Maoist operations and the success in “uniting the NDA parties”.

The remark swiftly became a subject of hushed discussion among BJP MPs in Parliament corridors against the backdrop of a debate in the wider Sangh Parivar over Modi’s successor.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had last month stressed the need for leaders to step aside gracefully after a certain age to make way for the new generation, swivelling the spotlight on the BJP’s unwritten retirement age of 75 enforced by Modi-Shah ostensibly to sideline many party stalwarts.

Modi’s loaded message comes at a time when the RSS is trying to free the party organisation from the iron grip of Modi-Shah. The RSS has been insisting on a strong leader and not a “rubber stamp” as the next BJP president, leading to a deadlock.

“Modiji did appear to indicate that Amit bhai has a long way to go since he is just 60 now. It could be a message to the party MPs that Amit bhai deserves to be his (Modi’s) successor,” a BJP MP said. Some others, however, picked on the word “we” and felt it would be wrong to interpret that the remark was intended for Shah.

“The Prime Minister said ‘this is just the beginning and we have a long way to go’. Clearly, it was a collective message for the party and not an individual leader,” another BJP MP said.

While Shah has always been the second most powerful leader in the current dispensation, he drew fresh attention for his role in the Operation Sindoor debatein the monsoon session ofParliament.

Shah had made a powerful intervention during the debate in the Lok Sabha, earning applause from Modi. “In his remarkable speech in the Lok Sabha, home minister Amit Shah gives important details about Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev, which have played a vital role in eliminating cowardly terrorists,” Modi had posted on X.

What followed was read as an “important hint” by ruling party leaders and also the Sangh Parivar. In the Lok Sabha, Modi replied to the Sindoor debate but fielded Shah to do the job in the Rajya Sabha.

“Amit Shah replacing Modi for the reply in the Rajya Sabha should be seen as a very important development. It clearly indicated who Modi wanted as his successor,” a BJP old-timer said. He said Modi’s message was significant given the emergence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath as Modi’s successor.

The Opposition had walked out of the Rajya Sabha in protest after Modi did not turn up to reply to the Sindoor debate. Shah told the Opposition that Modi was presentin Parliament, adding: “Face me, why do you want to call the PM?”

Some BJP ministers, too, rushed to hail Shah. “Heartiest congratulations to Shri @AmitShah ji for becoming the longest-serving Union Home Minister in India’s history. His tenure has witnessed decisive & historic decisions, including the abrogation of Article 370, an uncompromising action against terrorism, and reinforced internal security architecture. With a clear national vision, his leadership has relentlessly strengthened the foundations of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat,” commerce minister Piyush Goyal posted on X.

“Shri Amit Shah becomes the longest-serving Union Home Minister in India’s history. With 2,258 days in office, he has now surpassed Shri Lal Krishna Advani’s tenure of 2,256 days as Home Minister. Before them, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister, served for 1,218 days,” BJP social media head Amit Malviya posted.