Bajaj Auto's Rahul Bajaj handed the chairman's seat to cousin Niraj in 2021

On April 29, 2021, Bajaj Auto said its non-executive chairman Rahul Bajaj had resigned, effective from the close of business on April 30, citing his age of 82. The board appointed Niraj Bajaj, Rahul's cousin, as chairman from May 1, 2021, and made Rahul chairman emeritus for five years, according to the company's exchange filing reported by HT Auto.

Niraj Bajaj, then about 67, was a group veteran with 35 years of experience, on Bajaj Auto's board since September 2006 and a Harvard MBA. Rahul had been associated with Bajaj Auto since 1972 and with the group for five decades, having taken charge in 1965 when India was still a closed economy and built it around the iconic Chetak scooter.

The decision formalized an ongoing family transition rather than a sudden change: Rahul's sons Rajiv and Sanjiv already ran Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finserv respectively, so the chairmanship moved to a trusted third-generation peer while the patriarch kept an advisory role as chairman emeritus.

The handover closed cleanly: Niraj took the chair on May 1, 2021, Rahul became chairman emeritus for five years, and his sons kept running Bajaj Auto and Bajaj Finserv.

Choosing a 35-year group veteran (cousin Niraj) rather than an outsider kept the chairmanship inside the family.

Moving Rahul to chairman emeritus preserved his advisory value while ending his formal control.

Announcing the handover through a regulatory filing made the transition transparent to shareholders.

A formal, announced chairman transition — with the patriarch moving to chairman emeritus rather than clinging to the title — lets a family business change leadership without a power struggle.

The 2021 change completed the family's move to the third generation: Rajiv kept running Bajaj Auto, Sanjiv led Bajaj Finserv, and Niraj held the chair. Indian business media covered it as a textbook case of an announced, orderly founder exit from a promoter-run company.