Narendra Modi: From a poor, small town boy to the centre of power

His journey from Vadnagar to 7RCR will go down in history books as to how a democracy works

Narendra Damodardas Modi, 63, has pulled off what could be the biggest battle of his life so far by leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a landslide victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. His journey from an impoverished small town to the prime minister’s office will go down as one of the most incredible events in the history of India’s democracy.

Born on September 17, 1950, Modi completed his schooling at B N High School at Vadnagar in the Mehsana district of Gujarat. He has five siblings: Som, Amrut, Prahlad, Pankaj and Vasanti. He was drawn to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a very early age. Called “ND” by his schoolmates, he was a regular at the local RSS shakha after school hours. He was active in the National Cadet Corps and loved theatre.

In 1963, he performed a mono-act called “Pilu Phool” that dealt with the plight of a Dalit woman and her ill son. The act displayed Modi’s sympathy for the oppressed, as he too belonged to Ghanchis, a backward community.

At the age of 18, Modi left his home to become an RSS pracharak. Father Damodardas and mother Hiraba were upset when he told them about his decision. During the same time, Modi had just been married to Jashodaben, a girl about the same age from a nearby village. Members of Modi’s and Jashodaben’s families say the couple never consummated the marriage. Jashodaben still lives with her brother and has devoted herself to spirituality after retiring as a primary school teacher. Modi has projected himself as a bachelor all these years. However, he did acknowledge his marriage when he filed his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections this year.

After he left home, he returned in 1970 for a brief period and took up a job as the manager for his uncle’s canteen. The canteen was frequented by RSS workers who used to discuss socio-political issues with Modi. A senior RSS functionary, Laxmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil saheb, identified his talent and mentored him.

Later, Modi came close to L K Advani during the Emergency. Advani was then head of BJP’s earlier avatar, Jana Sangh. Advani was the one who got Modi inducted into the BJP in early 1987 and made him state organising secretary.

In 1990-91, Modi suggested Advani contest the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar. He later played a vital role in Advani’s Somnath-Ayodhya rath yatra. Modi’s management of the yatra helped him get national attention.

MODI’S JOURNEY TO THE TOP

• Sep 17, 1950: Born in Vadnagar, 100 km from Ahmedabad
• 1950-60s: Attends schools in Vadnagar and Ahmedabad; works at a tea stall in Vadnagar
• 1969: Marries Jashodaben, leaves to join RSS; starts living at the RSS headquarters in Maninagar, Ahmedabad
• 1987: Joins BJP; the party wins civic body polls, Modi becomes BJP Gujarat unit’s general-secretary
• 1990: Plays a key role in L K Advani’s Somnath-Ayodhya rath yatra
• 1995: BJP wins Gujarat polls; Shankersinh Vaghela rebels and splits the party
• 1998: BJP regains power in mid-term state polls; Modi becomes party’s general secretary
• 2001: Replaces Keshubhai Patel as Gujarat chief minister
• 2002: Riots break out and at least 1,200 people are killed in communal riots across Gujarat; PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee suggests sacking Modi, but Advani saves his chair; BJP gets a thumping victory in Assembly polls in December
• 2005: The US denies visa to Modi
• 2007: Leads BJP to another victory in Gujarat state elections
• 2008: Persuades Tata to relocate its Nano project to Gujarat from Singur in West Bengal.
• 2009: SC asks SIT to examine his role with regard to a complaint filed by Zakia Jafri
• 2010: SIT interrogates Modi; CBI arrests his aide Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case
• 2011: Modi gets SIT clean chit, begins Sadbhavna fast
• 2012: The UK ends boycott of Modi
• Dec 20, 2012: Creates a record by winning a third successive term as Gujarat CM
• Jan 7, 2013: EU ends a decade of informal boycott of Modi
• Jun 2013: Appointed BJP’s campaign committee chief for Lok Sabha polls;  JD(U) pulls out of a 17- year-old alliance with BJP
• Sep 13, 2013: Named BJP’s prime ministerial candidate
• Apr 9, 2014: Names Jashodaben as his wife for the first time in a poll affidavit
• May 16, 2014: BJP wins majority on its own
• May 20, 2014: Stakes claim to form govt

With Modi as party’s organising secretary, the BJP swept the Assembly polls in 1995. But cracks soon emerged with Shankarsinh Vaghela (now in Congress) rebelling against Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel. During the same time, Keshubhai had expelled Modi from Gujarat, blaming him for the revolt. In 1998 state elections, the BJP again won with a two-third majority.

But the mishandling of successive droughts, two cyclones and a devastating earthquake in 2001 had dented Kesheshubhai’s popularity. The BJP started losing by-elections and a large number of civic body polls. Modi took this opportunity to convince the BJP leadership that Keshubhai should be replaced. Modi took oath as Gujarat chief minister on October 7, 2001.

Modi faced the biggest challenge in his life when massive Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in the state after 59 “karsevaks” were killed when an alleged mob of minority community set ablaze S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra on February 27, 2002. In the ensuing violence, about 1,000 people, a majority of them Muslims, were killed by rioters. Modi was accused of not doing anything to rein in the violence. This forced then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to call upon Modi to follow “Rajdharma”. The taint of riot continues to haunt Modi even now. He faced the wrath of the international community, as a number of European countries including the UK boycotted him. The US in 2005 declined to grant visa to Modi.

Unfazed by criticism, Modi began efforts to attract investment to the state by organising Vibrant Gujarat investor summits beginning 2003. The biennial event went on to become the most sought-after event in the country, with investors from the world over making a beeline to pledge investment in Gujarat. In 2007, Modi steered the BJP to yet another victory in Gujarat.

But the low-point in his political career was when he was interrogated by the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team in March 2010 in connection with his alleged role during the 2002 riots. He was questioned by the agency for over nine hours.

After victory in the third consecutive Assembly elections in December 2012, Modi began eyeing a bigger national role. The international community, too, began softening their stance towards him.

Under huge pressure from the cadre and support from the parent organisation, RSS, Modi was nominated as the party’s prime ministerial candidate by the BJP. Though there were differences within the party, as senior leaders Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi were opposed to him, Modi had his way.