From a Tea Seller to a Visionary Icon of Modern-Day India: Modi's Political Voyage 

Narendra Damodardas Modi was born in a small town in Gujrat's Mehsana District; Vadnagar on September 17, 1950. His father was a regular tea seller at Vadnagar Railway station advocated Modi's humble beginnings. Although there is no such official record stating that Modi assisted his father in selling tea during business hours, the fact was verified when RTI (Right to Information) denied having an official record of Modi being a tea seller in 2015. It is argued by the opposition that Modi made up the story of being a tea seller, as such manipulative sentimental appeals helped increase his voter bank. Modi finished his high school education at Vadnagar in 1967 and graduated with a Political Science degree from Delhi University in 1978.

Modi was attracted to theatrical plays and he used to play macho and heroic characters, which is probably transmitted in his political personality. At the age of 8, he came to know about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which was a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization. Lakshman Rao Inamdar, who was one of the top personalities of RSS, enlisted Modi as a balswayamsevak (novice cadet) in the party. Modi considered Inamdar his political Guru (mentor). After turning 18 Modi married Jashodaben Chimanlal and just after, disowned his wife and left the house. They never got divorced, but their marriage was also not listed officially. During the 2014 election campaign, Modi declared that he had been married to Jashodaben Chimanlal to avoid any speculations from the opposition and general public.

Modi started his political journey when, in 1971, he joined Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Jana Sangh to participate in the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1971, Modi left his job at his uncle's canteen and became a permanent, proactive member of the RSS following the Indo-Pak war. In June 1975, during the state of emergency, Modi was selected as the General Secretary of Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti, which was a unit formed by the RSS in opposition to the state of emergency. RSS was banned immediately after this event.

Modi was urged to go underground, and to avoid arrest, he used to embrace the fake attire of monks, Sikhs, etc. Modi proactively worked against the government of India during that time, from leading revolutions to printing pamphlets that defied the regime. In 1978, Modi became sambhag pracharak (district organizer) of the RSS under which he was responsible for supervising operations in Surat and Vadodara. According to Modi, he was arrested due to an anti-nationalist protest in New Delhi, which he was a part of. After such diabolical events, Inamdar took charge of guiding Modi in making rational and safe political decisions.

After the return of Modi to Gujrat in 1985, RSS enlisted Modi to BJP, marking a new beginning. Modi's active campaigning in the 1987 Ahmedabad Municipal Elections facilitated the convincing victory of the BJP. Due to Modi's contributions to the Ahmedabad elections, he was appointed as organizing secretary of the BJP's Gujrat Division. By then, Modi was one of the most popular figures in the BJP, and in 1990, he was also nominated as a representative of the BJP's National Election Committee.

In 1995, Lal Krishna Advani selected Modi as National Secretary of the BJP and sent him to New Delhi, where he was overseeing the activities of the BJP in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Keshubai Patel, a senior member of BJP defeated Shankersinh Vaghela of Congress to win the Gujrat Legislative elections. Modi's tactical prowess was considered to be one of the primary reasons for Keshubai's convincing win. In 2001, considering the deteriorating health of Keshubai, Modi was elected as the Chief Minister of Gujrat. 

If we are talking about Modi's political journey, then the Gujrat riots cannot be omitted. On February 27th,2002, a train was burned near Godhra - a municipality of the Panchmahal district of Gujrat, that killed more than 55 people. The train was carrying Hindu pilgrims who were coming back from Ayodhya after engaging in a religious ritual at the location of the dismantled Babri Masjid. Modi declared that Muslims were behind the Godhra train attack. Right after this, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu extremist party, declared a general strike across Gujrat. During this strike, Hindus proactively started hunting down and killing innocent Muslim families. It was asserted by the state that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed during the riots that occurred during the strike.

According to independent media, the casualties were over 2,000 in total. Reportedly, 250 Muslim women and girls were gang-raped before being incinerated. More than 150,000 people were sent to refugee camps. Many experts consider the government of Gujrat a collaborator and participant in the Gujrat riots. Modi imposed rigorous curfews in 26 cities, but the situation was not coming under control; it had escalated badly. It was quite evident later that Gujrat violence was a deliberate act and was conducted under the jurisdiction of the Modi-led Gujrat government. Modi has been asked about the infamous event quite frequently recently, but he always states that his only regret regarding the chaotic event was the way he dealt with the media, nothing less, nothing more.

In 2009, Zakia Jaffri, whose husband was killed in the Gujrat violence filed a petition against Modi demanding the SIT (Special Investigation Team) investigate Modi's involvement in the event. In March 2012, the case was closed by the SIT as they asserted that there was no available evidence regarding Modi's involvement in the killings. In 2013, the magistrate court rejected the last protest petition made by Zakia Jaffri.

Several political leaders demanded the resignation of Modi after the Gujrat riots. The pressure forced Modi to hand in his resignation, but it was not approved. In the 2002 elections, Modi used an intense anti-Muslim agenda that the BJP cashed in and won a successful majority of 127 seats out of 182. Modi defeated Congress leader Yatin Oza to win the Maninagar constituency and came into office for the 2nd term. Modi's second term saw economic development and improvements in infrastructure across Gujarat. In the 2004 general elections, Congress emerged victorious and came into power after 8 years. Atal Bihari Vajpayee asserted that the anti-Muslim agenda of Modi and the Gujrat riots were the reason for the BJP's defeat.

During the 2007 Gujrat National Assembly Elections and 2009 general elections, the agenda of Modi diverted to terrorism blame. He accused then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of his hesitancy to restore anti-terror laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act, of 2002. Following the deadly 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the Gujarat government dispatched 30 high-speed boats for maritime patrolling. Modi held the position as the chief minister of Gujarat for a record 2063 days. The BJP won 122 seats out of 182 in the 2007 Gujarat National Assembly Elections.

Modi primarily used Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) to support his electoral campaigns. The BJP did not elect any Muslim candidates to take part in elections on the ticket of BJP in the 2012 Assembly Elections. Modi declined to put on clothes gifted to him by a Muslim leader as a constituent of his Hinduvta campaigning strategy. Modi used the latest technology, such as holograms, to reach a wider audience and masses during the 2012 Gujrat Legislative Assembly Elections. Modi defeated Shweta Bhatt of Congress to win the Maninagar constituency. The BJP won 115 seats out of 182 seats. 

Modi's reign since 2014 has been convincingly successful. However, Modi's aim of making India the world superpower by 2030 is a bit unrealistic and a lot is yet to be done to reduce income inequality, yet India has jumped to become the third-largest economy in the world, which is undoubtedly commendable.

 Can Modi convincingly retain his throne in the upcoming general elections in India?