Posted by : PersonaFab Team
NAMO!NAMO!NAMO!...Everybody in India and outside is talking
about this name.Be it media,politicians or voters.The man who developed and
industrialised the state of Gujarat beyond admiration.Yes this man is Narendra
Modi…Narendra Damodardas Modi.
Born on September 17,1950,he is an Indian politician and is
the 14th Chief Minister of Gujarat.He is the 15th and the current Prime Minister of Indian. He is a member of the Bhartiya
Janta Party(BJP) and head of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA).
Born to a family of grocers in Vadnagar in Mehsana district
of Gujarat,India.He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand
Modi and his wife Heeraben.As a child,he helped his father sell tea at the
Vadnagar railway station and on trains.As a teenager,Modi ran a tea stall with
his brother near a bus terminus.He completed his schooling in Vadnagar,wher a
teacher described him as an average student but a keen debater.Modi was a fan
of Rajesh Khanna.He began work in the staff canteen of Gujarat State Road
Transport Corporation.He worked there until he became a full time campaigner of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS).He was given charge of Sangh’s student
wing,Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP),in Gujarat.
During his years in RSS he came in touch with Vasant
Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda,leaders of Jan Sangh.Modi remained a
campaigner in the RSS while he completed his Master’s degree in political
science from Gujarat University.The RSS assigned Modi to BJP in 1985.While
Keshubhai Patel and Shankarsingh Vaghela were established names in Gujarat BJP
at that time,Modi rose to prominence after organising Murili Manohar Joshi’s
Ekta Yatra.His electoral strategy was central to BJP’s victory in the 1995
state elections.Modi became general secretary of the BJP and was transferred to
New Delhi for the party’s activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.After
Vaghela,who had threatened to break away from BJP in 1995,defected from the BJP
after he lost the 1996 Lok Sabha elections,Modi was promoted to the post of
National Secretary of the BJP in 1998.While selecting candidate for the 1998
state elections in Gujarat,Modi favoured people who were loyal to Patel over
those who were loyal to Vaghela,helping to put an end to the factional divisions
within the party.His strategies were credited as being key to winning the 1998
elections.
In 2001,Keshubhai Patel’s health was falling,and the BJP had
lost seats in the by-elections.Allegations of abuse of power,corruption and
poor administration were being made ,and Patel’s standing had been damaged by
his administration’s handling of the Bhuj Earthquake of 2001.As a result,BJP’s
national leadership sought a new candidate for the office of chief minister,and
Modi,who had aired his misgivings about Patel’s administration,was chosen as a
replacement.L.K. Advani,a senior leader of BJP,however,did not want to
ostracise Patel and was worried about Modi’s lack of experience in
governance.However,Modi declined an offer to be Patel’s deputy chief
minister,informing Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was “going to be
fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all”,and on & October 2001,Modi was
appointed the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
In July 2007,he became the longest serving Chief Minister in
Gujarat’s history,at which point he had been in power for 2063 days
continuously.He is currently serving his fourth consecutive term as Chief
Minister.Modi is a member of RSS and is described as a Hindu nationalist by
media,scholars and himself.He is a controversial figure both in India and
Internationally.His administration has been criticised for the instincts
surrounding the 2002 Gujarat violence.He has been praised for his economic
policies,which are credited with creating an environment for a high rate of
economic growth in Gujarat.However,his administration has also been criticised
for failing to make a significant positive impact upon the human development of
the state.
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