Modi marks 20 uninterrupted years in politics
As India’s prime minister turns 71 today, three key political turning points gave him a shot at power
Today India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 71. On October 7, 2021 he will complete 20 uninterrupted years in public life. Modi became the Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat in 2001. In 2014, he became the Prime Minister of India for the first term and went on to win a second term in 2019. The completion of his two decades of unparalleled political journey evokes many vignettes of his public life.
His life’s trajectory from 1967 to 2021 has several uncommon elements. Modi never had any home address until he became the CM. He stayed away from his biological family and didn’t own a house, so he got a novel experience of having hundreds of lunches and dinners and overnight stays in mostly ordinary middle-class homes of the supporters and workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for around 35 years.
Modi didn’t own a bank account for many decades. What gave him an edge over many of his contemporaries is that before he came to power, he had travelled all over India, without much budget, to grasp the issues corroding India. His travel diary is quite rich in terms of first-hand knowledge of the varieties of issues.
Rendezvous with Modi
I first met Narendra bhai, as we called him then, during 1981-82 in the house of late Professor Pravin Sheth in Ahmedabad. Sheth told me that Narendra bhai reads a lot. “He has a curiosity to know things and is a bit restless to gain knowledge. Often delving into details, Modi is a good observer and a patient listener,” the professor informed me. Since then I have been following and reporting Modi’s career growth. If one looks back and compares Modi of 1981 and Modi of 2021, with his flowing white beard, the most consistent feature of Modi that strikes you is his belief in himself.
Modi’s self-confidence can be seen in his time-management and hard work that stretches human limits to the maximum, and his habit of planning things much in advance. These attributes have shaped him into what he is today. His biggest weakness is his strong likes and dislikes. Modi finds it hard to let go off a grudge. Due to this — he has a somewhat sour relation with a section of the media, is tough on his critics and political adversaries. His long tenure in power has been neither smooth nor congenial.
Formation of Team Modi
The journey from a Sangh pracharak (worker) to the office of the Prime Minister, Modi’s political life has had three major political turning points. Being an RSS pracharak and secretary (organisation) in the Jan Sangh and later in the BJP, gave Modi his first big break. The pracharak Modi joined BJP in 1987. He soon formed his own Team Modi. That has become Modi’s signature style of governance, which continues in the PMO in New Delhi. Amit Shah became his loyal deputy around that time. BJP had many stalwarts in Gujarat, all several decades senior to him. Modi’s path was not an easy one to create. BJP had giants like Keshubhai Patel, Shankersinh Vaghela, Ashok Bhatt etc. Each had contributed in building the BJP brick by brick. But, Modi soon became the centre of change within the BJP with his thorough knowledge of the caste system. His contacts in powerful religious sects, social institutions and in the corporate world helped.
Modi was among the first leaders to adopt technology to spread political messaging.
Journey in Delhi
Another turning point came in 1995 when Gujarat Parliamentary Board unanimously decided to ask him to stay away from state politics. It was the decision that eventually cost all the seniors their careers. Modi turned the snub into an opportunity. In Delhi he expanded his vision, created a pan-India network, made friends in the national media and understood the inner workings of the national BJP and its leaders. But he was keen to return to Gujarat politics. BJP headquarters conveyed to Keshubhai, then CM, to make Modi chief of the state BJP. Patel strongly objected to Modi’s return from Delhi. A senior BJP leader who was privy to it told Gulf News, “After losing the Sabarmati by-election and the local elections, Patel’s political position had weakened. He made a fatal mistake in rejecting the proposal to let Modi lead the party.”
On Aug. 25, 2001, year of 75th anniversary of RSS, Modi arranged important Tapovandana event. In less than two months. on October 7, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee agreed to replace Patel. That was when Modi came to power (as Gujarat CM) for the first time.
Assembly elections
The third important turning point in Modi’s political march came when the 2007 assembly victory effectively demonstrated to Sangh Pariwar how the assertion of Hindu identity can bring votes. The reluctance of AdvaniVajpayee era receded almost overnight. The victory of 2007 (which followed BJP’s 2002 win) finally gave the party the confidence to discard the reluctance of showcasing itself as a Hindu party. Henceforth development and Hindutva would be BJP’s twin planks. There was no looking back. In 2021 he continues to remain unchallenged within his party.