Narendra Damodardas Modi ( pronunciation (help·info); born 17 September 1950) is the 14th and current Chief Minister of Gujarat, a state in western India. Modi was a key strategist for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the successful 1995 and 1998 Gujarat state election campaigns. He first became chief minister of Gujarat in October 2001, being promoted to the office upon the resignation of his predecessor, Keshubhai Patel, following the defeat of BJP in by-elections. In July 2007, he became the longest-serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2,063 days continuously. Under his leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2012 State Assembly Elections and he was chosen to serve for a fourth term as chief minister.

Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He holds a master's degree in political science. Modi is a controversial figure both within India and internationally.^[1][2][3][4] His administration has been criticised for the incidents surrounding the 2002 Gujarat violence.^[4][5] His policies are credited with creating the environment for the high economic growth in Gujarat.^[6]

Contents   [hide]  1 Early life and activism 1.1 Early life 1.2 Education and political activism 2 2002 Gujarat violence 2.1 2002 election 3 Second term (2002–2007) 3.1 Terrorism and elections in 2007-2008 4 Third term (2007–2012) 5 Fourth term (2012–present) 5.1 Role in central politics 6 International diplomacy 7 Personality and image 8 Awards and recognitions 9 References 10 External links

Early life and activism

Early life

Modi was born on 17 September 1950^[7] to a family of grocers in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State (present-day Gujarat), India.^[8] He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife, Heeraben.^[9][10] While a teenager, Modi ran a tea stall with his brother around a bus terminus.^[11] He completed his schooling in Vadnagar, where a teacher describes him as being an average student but a keen debater.^[10]

He began work in the staff canteen of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation, where he stayed till he became a full–time pracharak (propagator) of the RSS.^[10][12] After Modi had received some RSS training in Nagpur, which was a prerequisite for taking up an official position in the Sangh Parivar, he was given charge of Sangh's student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, in Gujarat. Modi organised agitations and covert distribution of Sangh's pamphlets during the Emergency.^[10] During his years in the RSS, Modi came in touch with Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, leaders of the Jan Sangh, who later founded the BJP's Gujarat state unit.^[12]

Education and political activism

Modi remained a pracharak in the RSS while he completed his master's degree in political science from Gujarat University.^[13] The RSS seconded Modi to the BJP in 1987.^[12][14] WhileShankarsingh Vaghela and Keshubhai Patel were the established names in the BJP, Modi rose to prominence after organising Murli Manohar Joshi's Ekta yatra (journey for unity).^[10] His electoral strategy was central to BJP's victory in the 1995 state elections.^[14][12][15]

Modi became the General Secretary of the BJP and was transferred to New Delhi where he was assigned responsibility for the party's activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.^[14] Vaghela, who had threatened to break away from BJP in 1995, defected from the BJP after he lost the 1996 Lok Sabha elections. In 1998, Modi was promoted to the post of National Secretary of the BJP.^[10] While selecting candidates for the 1998 state elections in Gujarat, Modi sidelined people who were loyal to Vaghela and rewarded those who favoured Patel, thus ending factional divisions within the party. His strategies were key to winning those elections.^[14]

Patel's failing health, along with allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration, as well as a loss of BJP seats in by-elections and the effects of the devastating Bhuj Earthquakeof 2001, which his administration struggled to handle, prompted the BJP's national leadership to seek a new candidate for the office of chief minister.^[16][17][14] Modi, who had aired his misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement.^[10] L. K. Advani, a senior leader of the BJP, however, did not want to ostracise Patel and was worried about Modi's lack of experience in governance. It was suggested that Modi should be made the deputy chief minster in a government led by Patel. Modi informed Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all" and declined the proposal. On 7 October 2001, Modi was appointed the Chief Minister of Gujarat and was assigned responsibility to prepare the BJP for elections in December 2002.^[16] As Chief Minister, Modi's ideas of governance revolved around privatisation and small government, which stood at odds with what Aditi Phadnis has described as the "anti–privatisation, anti–globalisation position" of the RSS.^{[16]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narendra_Modi}