While there were no major riots during Modi's rule, a section of the police force continued to stage encounters, reviving the fear psychosis among people. Modi's lieutenant and former MoS for home, Amit Shah, along with a dozen cops are accused in the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati.
Supreme Courtappointed SIT headed by former CBI director R K Raghavan has said in its report that there is prima facie little evidence to nail Modi in riot cases, especially the Gulbarg massacre where former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri was killed along with 69 people.
A local court has recently convicted Maya Kodnani, who was a minister in Modi cabinet, in the Naroda Patia massacre.
West Bans Him, He Looks East
 |
Image courtesy: BCCL
The big jolt came in March 2005, when the US revoked his visa on grounds of suppression of religious freedom. The European Union followed suit. Of late though, Uncle Sam has been cozying up to the man seen as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. The UK too has announced the re-establishment of trade ties with Gujarat after a moratorium of 10 years.
With the West ignoring him, Modi started to look eastwards, especially to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Japan became a partner country for the Vibrant Gujarat summit in 2007.
China rolled out a red carpet to Modi last year. Big car companies like Tata, Ford, and Maruti Suzuki have driven into the state, giving a boost to Modi's development plank.
'Vote Ka Saudagar' in 2007
 |
An otherwise dull poll campaign in the last assembly elections in December 2007 came alive with one speech by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi — 'Maut ka saudagar' was a loose ball which Modi hit for a six by turning the heat on the Congress on the issue of counter-terrorism, and won 117 seats.
Two years later, he emerged as the BJP's star campaigner for the Lok Sabha polls. Missile Modi bombed as UPA-II came to power.
Sadbhavana Lost
 |
Image courtesy: BCCL
On his 62nd birthday, Modi made a U-turn on his Hindutva stance, considered his core strength. On September 17, 2011, he launched his Sadbhavana Mission, a 3-day fast that offered an olive branch to Muslims.
It was clearly a move aimed at securing a larger national role — his hardcore Hindutva posterboy image would alienate NDA allies. But when it came to giving tickets to Muslims, Modi did not show any Sadbhavana. Not a single minority member got a BJP ticket - lest it upset his core constituency, Hindus.
Fishing for Trouble
 |
Image courtesy: BCCL
Hoon khato nathi, ane khaava deto nathi — for years, this one line proved a clincher for Modi. Loosely translated, it means 'I don't accept bribes and I do not allow others either'. This time, as he trains his guns on the UPA on the issue of corruption, Modi's famous line has gone missing. Parshottam Solanki — his minister of state for fisheries and BJP candidate from Bhavnagar Rural against Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil, faces arrest in a Rs 400-crore fishing contract scam.
Criminal prosecution was started against Solanki after the Gujarat high court found irregularities in the process of awarding contracts. Besides, Gujarat government's delay in appointing a Lokayukta has baffled many.
2014: The Final Frontier
 |
A defeat in December 2012, or even a narrow win, would jeopardize Modi's chances of becoming PM. His seniors in the BJP and NDA allies are becoming increasingly wary of his growing stature and brazen ambition. The Lok Sabha polls in 2014 seem to be the Vadnagar boy's final frontier.
The man realizes that if there is any time to conquer Delhi, it is now — especially with a cornered Congress struggling to come out clean on corruption charges. A crowd-puller, Modi would need blessings of the Sangh Parivar and support of cadres to emerge as the BJP's best bet.
The Immediate Battle
 |
The upcoming assembly election is a make-or-break test for Modi, whose men are fighting decade-long anti-incumbency even as the CM continues to remain popular. A rejuvenated Congress and a third force in Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party have ensured a keen contest, notwithstanding the opinion polls which are giving Modi a two-thirds majority win.
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Chhote Sardar!
The upcoming assembly election is a make-or-break test for Narendra Modi, whose men are fighting decade-long anti-incumbency even as the CM continues to remain popular.
FIRST 'ND', NOW 'NAMO' Narendra Modi was born on September 17, 1950, in the ancient town of Vadnagar, about 100 km north of Ahmedabad. His father Damodardas Modi was a small-time grocer. Though Modi was one among five brothers and a sister, little is known about his other siblings, even 11 years after he became CM. Modi often says that he doesn't have any son-in-law to promote — an obvious reference to Robert Vadra. None of his family members is seen around him. His mother, Hiraba, was lost in the crowd watching her son being sworn in as chief minister for the first time in October 2001, till someone recognized her and offered her a seat. His youngest brother is a class II officer in the information department of the Gujarat government and elder brother leads an association of fair-price-shops owners, often at odds with the government. ND, as he was called by schoolmates in BN High School, was a regular at a RSS shakha after school hours. NCCtraining shaped his body and theatre honed his celebrated oratory skills. "In 1963, he did a mono-act called 'Pilu Phool' to raise funds for a social cause. The play dealt with the plight of a dalit woman and her son who is ill," says Kishore Makwana, who has written a book on Modi. The subject of his play showed his sympathetic view towards the oppressed, being an OBC himself from the sturdy community of Ghanchis — those who make oil. His contemporaries recall that he was not scared of wading in Vadnagar's lake despite a crocodile scare. LALJI'S BLUE-EYED BOY It was during the dark days of Emergency in 1975 that Modi, as a 25-year-old RSS pracharak, went into hiding and came in contact with L K Advani, then a top leader of the Jan Sangh. Lalji, as Advani is called in his close circles, instantly recognized the organizing skills of this go-getter. Advani was instrumental in inducting Modi into the BJP in the mid-1980s and he made him the BJP's state organizing secretary. Advani promoted him all along and solidly stood by his protege in every single crisis he faced. The relationship flourished as Modi continued to impress Advani time and again. The defining moment in Modi's career came when he masterminded BJP's thumping victory in the Ahmedabad civic body elections in 1987 — this was for the first time that the party tasted power in Gujarat. In 1991, Modi suggested to Advani that he should contest for the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar, having lost the last elections from New Delhi in 1984. Modi may have had other ideas because Gandhinagar was until then represented by Modi's peer-turned-foe, Shankersinh Vaghela. MARRIED TO THE PARIVAR Modi himself doesn't talk about his so-called marriage to a school teacher Jashodaben. He leaves the 'marital status' column in all official records blank. After he left his family in the late 1960s, Modi used to help his brother run a tea stall at Gita Mandir bus stand in Ahmedabad, serving fresh buns and hot cups of tea. Among the regular clients were a bunch of RSS leaders who used to animatedly discuss political developments for hours at a stretch. Impressed by their intellect, Modi — 20 years old at the time — left the tea stall to become a swayamsevak and later a full-time pracharak, who have to remain unmarried. The then prant pracharak of RSS, Laxmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakilsaheb, took Modi under his wings. A voracious reader and tireless traveller, Modi completed his postgraduation in political science from Gujarat University. 'SARTHI' OF ADVANI, JOSHI The clincher was yet to come. This was the time when the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was gaining momentum. Advani shared with Modi the idea of making the Somnath Temple, where Sardar Patel built a new temple in place of the shrine which was ravaged by Muslim invaders, an example which could be replicated at the Babri Masjid site. The idea soon took form of a rathyatra which changed Indian politics in an irreversible way. Modi was chosen as Advani's 'sarthi', a term used for Lord Krishna as Arjun's charioteer in Mahabharat. Modi then minutely planned his mentor's rathyatra in Gujarat. Later, he played a similar nationwide role in Murli Manohar Joshi's Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Ekta Yatra, in 1992. TERRIFIC THREESOME TORN APART In 1990, the BJP came to power in a government headed by Chimanbhai Patel but the party walked out of an alliance with Janata Dal, which continued to run the government with Congress support. Fighting on its own in 1995, the BJP swept the assembly polls with Namo's strategy, Shankersinh Vaghela's aggression and Keshubhai Patel's mass appeal. But cracks started to emerge within Gujarat's most powerful troika soon after because Modi came to be seen as the 'Super CM'. Vaghela, who lost out to Keshubhai in the race to become CM, rebelled to form a government with the Congress. Keshubhai got Modi banished from Gujarat, blaming him for the rebellion. In the 1998 elections, when the BJP again won twothirds majority, Keshubhai chose Modi's one-time protege, Sanjay Joshi, to take control of the organization. Vaghela's Rashtriya Janata Party merged with the Congress. Banished from Gujarat, Modi did not sit quiet. He silently worked in the organization in Delhi, handling the Himachal Pradesh unit, which he turned around. His secret visits to Gujarat were closely monitored by Keshubhai and the then minister of state for home, Haren Pandya. COUP AGAINST KESHUBHAI Successive droughts, two cyclones and a devastating earthquake dented Keshubhai's popularity. The BJP started losing by-elections and a large number of civic bodies. Modi manoeuvred behind the scenes to engineer dissent against Keshubhai and convinced a worried Advani that he was the best replacement. On October 7, 2001, the BJP sent Modi to take over the job. Among the first things he did was to send Sanjay Joshi packing. Not having contested a single election until then, Modi eyed Ellisbridge, then represented by Haren Pandya. But Pandya saw through the game and refused to oblige. Modi got elected in January 2002 from Rajkot-2, a stronghold of Keshubhai, and said he was here to play one-day cricket as elections were less than a year away. RABBLE-ROUSER RISES His job safe, the politician in Modi came fully alive in mid-2002 when he launched the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, invoking Gujarati pride in a pre-poll exercise. The rabble-rousing tour, which traversed the length and breadth of Gujarat, saw Modi attacking Muslims openly. It was in one such speech that he made the infamous 'Hum paanch hamare pachchis' remark referring to polygamy and "population explosion". He swept the polls in December 2002. During the campaign, he had suggestively referred to the chief election commissioner by his full name — James Michael Lyngdoh — and simultaneously targeted Sonia Gandhi for her Italian link. GODHRA THE TURNING POINT Just a week after he took oath in the assembly, the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt in Godhra leading to the bloodiest riots ever across Gujarat. The Modi government's role during the riots continues to remain suspect and he is alleged to have told his officers to let the mobs vent their anger. His police clearly played a partisan role. Even the then prime minister A B Vajpayee publicly asked him to follow 'Rajdharma' and even tried to sack him. But Modi survived thanks to his soaring popularity in Gujarat and blessings from Advani who saved his job at the critical BJP's national executive in Goa. SWITCH TO DEVELOPMENT MODE Firmly in the saddle with two-thirds majority, Modi realized that the emotive communal issue may not help him achieve his larger goal. He got into the development mode in 2003, inaugurating the 'Resurgent Gujarat' business summit — an earlier avatar of Vibrant Gujarat — and also embarked on Gujarat Siddhi Yatra, to celebrate achievements of his one-year rule. Known for his branding skills, he repackaged many old schemes in new bottles besides introducing the Karmayogi concept to improve efficiency of government officials. Also, he led a business delegation to the UK, where human rights group welcomed him with black flags. But successful Vibrant Gujarat summits, where captains of industry have hailed him as the next PM, may have helped Brand Modi despite Gujarat's poor show on some key social indicators like healthcare and education. ENCOUNTERS OF THE FAKE KIND While there were no major riots during Modi's rule, a section of the police force continued to stage encounters, reviving the fear psychosis among people. Modi's lieutenant and former MoS for home, Amit Shah, along with a dozen cops are accused in the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati. Supreme Courtappointed SIT headed by former CBI director R K Raghavan has said in its report that there is prima facie little evidence to nail Modi in riot cases, especially the Gulbarg massacre where former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri was killed along with 69 people. A local court has recently convicted Maya Kodnani, who was a minister in Modi cabinet, in the Naroda Patia massacre. WEST BANS HIM, HE LOOKS EAST The big jolt came in March 2005, when the US revoked his visa on grounds of suppression of religious freedom. The European Union followed suit. Of late though, Uncle Sam has been cozying up to the man seen as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. The UK too has announced the re-establishment of trade ties with Gujarat after a moratorium of 10 years. With the West ignoring him, Modi started to look eastwards, especially to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Japan became a partner country for the VibrantGujarat summit in 2007. China rolled out a red carpet to Modi last year. Big car companies like Tata, Ford, and Maruti Suzuki have driven into the state, giving a boost to Modi's development plank. 'VOTE KA SAUDAGAR' IN 2007 An otherwise dull poll campaign in the last assembly elections in December 2007 came alive with one speech by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi — 'Maut ka saudagar' was a loose ball which Modi hit for a six by turning the heat on the Congress on the issue of counter-terrorism, and won 117 seats. Two years later, he emerged as the BJP's star campaigner for the Lok Sabha polls. Missile Modi bombed as UPA-II came to power. SADBHAVANA LOST On his 62nd birthday, Modi made a U-turn on his Hindutva stance, considered his core strength. On September 17, 2011, he launched his Sadbhavana Mission, a 3-day fast that offered an olive branch to Muslims. It was clearly a move aimed at securing a larger national role — his hardcore Hindutva posterboy image would alienate NDA allies. But when it came to giving tickets to Muslims, Modi did not show any Sadbhavana. Not a single minority member got a BJP ticket - lest it upset his core constituency, Hindus. FISHING FOR TROUBLE Hoon khato nathi, ane khaava deto nathi — for years, this one line proved a clincher for Modi. Loosely translated, it means 'I don't accept bribes and I do not allow others either'. This time, as he trains his guns on the UPA on the issue of corruption, Modi's famous line has gone missing. Parshottam Solanki — his minister of state for fisheries and BJP candidate from Bhavnagar Rural against Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil, faces arrest in a Rs 400-crore fishing contract scam. Criminal prosecution was started against Solanki after the Gujarat high court found irregularities in the process of awarding contracts. Besides, Gujarat government's delay in appointing a Lokayukta has baffled many. THE IMMEDIATE BATTLE The upcoming assembly election is a make-or-break test for Modi, whose men are fighting decade-long anti-incumbency even as the CM continues to remain popular. A rejuvenated Congress and a third force in Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party have ensured a keen contest, notwithstanding the opinion polls which are giving Modi a two-thirds majority win. 2014: THE FINAL FRONTIER A defeat in December 2012, or even a narrow win, would jeopardize Modi's chances of becoming PM. His seniors in the BJP and NDA allies are becoming increasingly wary of his growing stature and brazen ambition. The Lok Sabha polls in 2014 seem to be the Vadnagar boy's final frontier. The man realizes that if there is any time to conquer Delhi, it is now — especially with a cornered Congress struggling to come out clean on corruption charges. A crowd-puller, Modi would need blessings of the Sangh Parivar and support of cadres to emerge as the BJP's best bet.
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