Biography of Narendra Damadardas Modi

Name: Narendara Damadardas Modi

Age: 63 years

Place of Birth: Vadnagar, Mehsana, Gujarat

Religion: Hindu

Spouse Name: Joshodaben

Education: Did his schooling from Vadnagar. According to his teachers, Modi was an average student but had great interest in debates.

P.M. of India: Since 26th May 2014

Achievements: He is the major force behind Gujarat's position as a global brand and a great industrial destination.

Narendra Damodardas Modi is all set to be India's 15th Prime Minister of India. A four-time Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi has successfully led the NDA to a historic win in the 2014 elections.

ABOUT CHILDHOOD

When he was six years old, the man who could be India's prime minister helped his father sell tea to passengers whenever an odd train came into the small Vadnagar station in Gujarat, says a recently released book titled "The anatomy of Narendra Modi the man and his politics" authored by Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.

Narendra Modi was an ordinary boy from a middle class family, the third of four children, and life was literally dark when he was young. The family house was poorly lit and had little natural light; the kerosene lamp added to the smoke and grime.

There was noting remarkable about Modi's childhood except that he got attracted to the RSS - which later helped him grow politically. At 18, he decided to wander in the Himalayas, leaving behind his family and an unconsummated marriage.

According to Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, who has authored a gripping biography of the Gujarat Chief Minister, the years from 1967 to 1971 are somewhat mysterious in Modi's life. He would disappear at times for months at a stretch. The trait remained with him. In 1995-96. Modi went to the Gir forest on his own and slept in an old temple. I actually enjoy loneliness.

It was after the 1971 war with Pakistan that Modi formally joined the RSS and moved into the Hedgewar Bhawan. His early responsibilities included making tea, breakfast and evening snacks for senior colleagues. He also swept and cleaned the building, which then had eight-ten rooms.

Modi proved his mettle while doing risky underground work during the 1975-77 Emergency, often travelling in disguise and on a motorcycle. (Soon after, he completed M.A. as an external student from Gujarat University.) Seniors in RSS soon realized his excellent organisational skills and analytical mind.

Modi's rise in the RSS was rapid-in part because he was also equally adept at picking his mentors and making use of them for furthering his career. He was among the first two Pracharaks who began working full-time in the BJP.

His role in helping the party win the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation election in 1986 raised appreciative eyebrows. Within two years, he was the organising secretary of the Gujarat BJP. Modi learnt the ropes of party politics by attending BJP public meetings - quietly sitting in the back and listening to speeches.

He also built an extensive network across the state - a move that later helped him to checkmate all his rivals and take control of the BJP in Gujarat.

L.K. Advani's Rath Yatra was Modi's first national-level political assignment. But it was Murli Manohar Joshi's Ekta Yatra to Srinagar where he had a more major role to play. Not everyone in the Gujarat BJP liked him though; Keshubhai Patel, Shankersinh Vaghela and Kanshiram Rana resented Modi's lateral entry into the BJP's top echelons.

But "Over time, Modi used the contradictions and rivalries among these leaders to his own benefit by using one against the other." When Keshubhai Patel was the chief minister, Modi was knows as "super CM". It caused him problems. But after some isolation, he bounced back, in part with Advani's blessings.

In 2001, the boy who once sold tea to train passengers became its chief minister and then presided over one of India's worst communal frenzy.

The Godhra killings gave Modi a distinct identity - "a label which he has displayed brazenly ever since".  According to Mukhopadhyay, Modi strongly believes that if minorities wish to feel safe in the state he governs, they will have to abide by the value systems of the Hindu community. It is this Hindutva politics Modi represents as he prepares to lead the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha battle.

Modi the book says is one of the trendiest male politicians in India. He was among the first to possess a digital diary. He is always well groomed. He goes for made-to-order Modi kurta with hand-tailored button holes. He is at home in Western attire too. He has a weakness for designer fountain pens-Montblanc.

A workaholic, he also never forgives anyone who has wronged him. Those who have known Modi tell the author that he is an authoritarian who won't allow anyone to grow beyond a point. He is ruthless with ruthless efficiency.

Mukhpadhyay is not a fan of the Gujarat success story; he explains why with statistics. This book, on Modi, is political journalism at its best. You have to read it if you want o know why Modi is what he is today.

POLITICAL JOURNEY

• Became the General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party in its Gujarat unit in 1988.
• Recognized as a key strategist by the Bharatiya Janata Party for being instrumental in successfully campaigning for the party in the 1995 and 1998 elections in the state of Gujarat, which led the party to become the ruling party of the state of Gujarat.
• Successfully organized two challenging events on a national level: (I) Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra, a long march by Mr. L.K. Advani and (II) a march from Kanyakumari (southern tip of India) to Kashmir (northern tip of India). These two events are considered to have attributed in bringing Bharatiya Janata Party to power in 1998.
• In 1995 Narendra Modi was appointed Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party at national level.
• Narendra Modi has been credited for having successfully carried out the responsiblity of revamping the party organization in different states.
• In 1998 Narendra Modi was promoted as General Secretary and held the position till October 2001.
• Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat for the first time in October 2001 after his predecessor Keshubhai Patel resigned from the post following the defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party in the by-elections.

NARENDRA MODI POLITICAL RESULT

Year	Constituency	State	Status
2014	Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	Won
2014	Vadodara	Gujarat	Won

BOOKS WRITTEN BY NARENDRA MODI

• Jyotipunj
• Adobe of Love
• Premtirth
• Kelve Te Kelavani
• Sakshibhav
• Samajik Samarsata

AWARDS WON

• On the centenary celebration of Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj, Narendra Modi was conferred with the Gujarat Ratna award at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch.
• The Computer society of India bestowed him the e-Ratna award
• In 2009, the FDi magazine honoured him as the Asian Winner of the FDi Personality of the year Award.