Narendra Modi life and biography

Narendra Modi is the Chief Minister of Gujarat, a state which he has been able to successfully convert into an investment hotpsot. Born on September 17, 1950, in a small town of Vadnagar in Mehsana district in North Gujarat, he completed his schooling in Vadnagar and did his masters degree in Political Science from Gujarat University. A student leader of the ABVP, Modi joined the BJP in 1987. In 1995 he was made the National Secretary of the party in-charge of five major states in India. He took over as the state CM in 2001 after there was internal leadership crisis in the party. Although tthe Godhra riots of 2002 dented his secular image, Modi managed to make a successive comeback in 2002 and 2007 Assembly polls. He is regarded as the future Prime Minister of India and has got a thumbs-up from India Inc for luring investors and ensuring they stay on in the state. His recent admirer is Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata whose much-troubled Nano is now going to roll out of Sanand.

He entered mainstream politics in 1987 by joining the BJP. Just within a year, he was elevated to the level of General Secretary of the Gujarat unit. By that time he had already acquired a reputation for being a highly efficient organizer. He took up the challenging task of energizing the party cadres in right earnest. The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. Since then, the BJP has been governing Gujarat.

Between 1988 and 1995, Shri Narendra Modi was recognized as a master strategist who had successfully gained the necessary groundwork for making the Gujarat BJP the ruling party of the state. During this period, Shri Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a very long march) of Shri L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. The ascent of the BJP to power at New Delhi in 1998 has been attributed to these two highly successful events, substantially handled by Shri Modi.

In 1995, he was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India – a rare distinction for a young leader. In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001, when he was chosen to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat, one of the most prosperous and progressive states of India.
During his stint at the national level, Shri Narendra Modi was given the responsibility to oversee the affairs of several state level units, including the sensitive and crucial state of Jammu and Kashmir and the equally sensitive north-eastern states. He was responsible for revamping the party organization in several states. While working at the national level, Shri Narendra Modi emerged as an important spokesman for the party and played a key role on several important occasions.

During this period, he travelled extensively across the world and interacted with eminent leaders of several countries. These experiences not only helped him develop a global perspective but also intensified his passion to serve India and lead it towards the socio-economic supremacy in the comity of nations.

In October 2001, he was called upon by the party to lead the Government in Gujarat. When Shri Modi ‘s government was sworn in on October 7, 2001, the economy of Gujarat was reeling under the adverse effects of several natural calamities, including a massive earthquake in January 2001. However Shri Narendra Modi, a master strategist, who was enriched by national and international exposure and experience, decided to take the bull by its horns.

The biggest challenge that he had to face, when he took over as the Chief Minster, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive earthquake of January 2001. Bhuj was a city of rubble and thousands of people were living in temporary shelters without any basic infrastructure. Today Bhuj is proof of how Shri Narendra Modi has turned adversity into an opportunity for holistic development.

Even when the reconstruction and rehabilitation was going on, Shri Narendra Modi did not lose sight of the bigger picture. Gujarat had always focused on industrial growth. Shri Narendra Modi decided to correct the imbalance by focusing appropriately on social sectors for an integrated socio-economic growth. He conceived the Panchamrut Yojana – a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state.

Under his leadership, Gujarat is witnessing massive transformation in several sectors including education, agriculture, healthcare and several others. He developed a clear vision of his own for the future of the state, launched policy-driven reform programmes, reoriented government’s administrative structure and successfully put Gujarat on the road to prosperity. His intentions and capacity were noticed within the first 100 days of his coming to power. Little wonder that these skills coupled with his administrative acumen, clear vision and integrity of character translated into a landslide victory in the December 2002 general elections and the Modi government was voted back to power with a massive majority of 128 seats in a house of 182. The spectacular performance continued in 2007 when in yet another election Shri Modi led the BJP to a record win.

Shri Narendra Modi completed record 4000 days in service of the people of Gujarat on 17th September 2012. He has been blessed by the support of the people of Gujarat in three successive elections. After leading the party to victory in 2002 and 2007 (117 seats) elections, Shri Modi led the BJP to another victory at the hustings during the 2012 Gujarat Assembly Elections. The BJP emerged victorious in 115 seats and Shri Modi was sworn-in as the CM of Gujarat for the 4th consecutive time on 26th December 2012.

A skilled orator and a deft negotiator, Shri Modi has earned the love of people from villages and cities alike. His following encompasses people belonging to every faith and religion and every economic section of society.

It is under his able leadership that Gujarat has bagged several awards and accolades from all over the world – including UN Sasakawa Award for disaster reduction, Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) award for innovations in governance, UNESCO award, CSI award for e-Governance etc. The very fact that Shri Narendra Modi has been ranked as the number one Chief Minister by the public for three consecutive years speaks volumes for his achievements.

His masterstroke of putting Gujarat on the global map essentially is ongoing campaign called the Vibrant Gujarat that truly transforms Gujarat into one of the most preferred investment destinations. The 2013 Vibrant Gujarat Summit drew participation from over 120 nations of the world, a commendable feat in itself.

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