British writer set to launch book on Modi

A new book detailing the "fascinating" story behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory in general elections last year is set to be launched by a British writer, journalist and political strategist.
'The Modi Effect -- Inside Narendra Modi's Campaign to Transform India' by Lance Price will be released by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Hachette India on March 12.
"India is going to become an even more important player on the world stage in the years ahead. We share a lot of history but our futures are intertwined too," says Price, who based his account on "exclusive access to Prime Minister Modi, his ministers and advisers."

"And if we want to understand the new India, it seems to me we have to start by trying to understand Narendra Modi," he said.
Using his experience as a former political correspondent with the BBC and as communications director for Tony Blair's Labour Party, Price hopes to bring fresh insight to the election campaign and the impact of Modi's victory both in India and across the globe.
The book will look at 64-year-old Modi's rise, his unprecedented mass appeal despite the controversies surrounding him (including the West shunning him), and the pivotal role he will now play on the international stage.

Price says: "Of all the elections I have ever reported on or taken part in, nothing compares to Narendra Modi's recent campaign in India. It was breath-taking in its ambition and its execution.

"The new Prime Minister is an intriguing character with a controversial past. The story of his rise from selling tea on trains as a boy to leading the world's largest democracy is a fascinating one.
"I hope that with the benefit of interviews with so many of those intimately involved in the campaign, 'The Modi Effect' can shed important new light on how the election was won - and the lasting impact it's likely to have on India and the world."

'The Modi Effect' will reveal the inside story of the campaign -- the most ambitious and innovatory ever seen in India or the world - which has lessons for politics in every democracy on earth, the publishers Hodder & Stoughton said in a statement.