Narendra Modi’s journey began in the town of Vadnagar in North - TopicsExpress

Narendra Modi’s journey began in the town of Vadnagar in North Gujarat’s Mehsana district. Born on the 17th of September 1950, Narendra Modi is the 3rd among the 6 children of Hiraba and Damodardas Modi. Narendra Modi’s childhood was one of immense struggle and difficulty. As a youngster he helped his family run a tea-stall at the local railway station to make ends meet. Yet, these hardships did not deter Narendra Modi. He remained a devoted student, always eager to learn something new. From his younger days, Narendra Modi was drawn towards serving the society. It was this passion to serve that drew Narendra Modi to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a socio-cultural organisation devoted to the development and regeneration of India in 1972. Being in the RSS meant Narendra Modi had to travel all over India, giving him a first hand experience of India’s diversity, people’s joys and their problems. In the RSS, Narendra Modi made a distinguished mark due to his organisational skills. As a youngster, Narendra Modi participated in the Navnirman Movement in 1974-75, which was a strong anti-corruption movement inspired by Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan. He was jailed during the Emergency imposed in India in 1975. However, it was not until 1987 that Narendra Modi’s first brush with politics occurred. In 1987 he was asked to work for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and became the General Secretary of the Gujarat Unit. In the next few years he was entrusted with the responsibility of organising the Ayodhya Rath Yatra and the Ekta Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. His organisational work in the 1990 Gujarat Assembly Elections reaped fruits when the BJP’s tally shot up from 11 in 1985 to 67. The increase in the voteshare was also significant. In 1995, the BJP formed the government in Gujarat, winning a record 121 seats. In recognition of his outstanding contribution towards the Party Organisation, Narendra Modi was made National Secretary of the BJP and given charge of 5 crucial states in North India. Under his guidance, the BJP and its allies improved their performance and even formed governments in these states. In 1998, the year BJP formed the Central Government under Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri Modi was made National General Secretary (Organisation), a very important responsibility in the party. A fresh chapter was written in Shri Modi’s life when he was asked by the Party to return to Gujarat and serve as the Chief Minister of the state. The state was reeling under the effects of a severe quake and a year before that there was a cyclone. It was under these trying circumstances that Narendra Modi was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 7th October 2001. Narendra Modi did not waste a single minute and got down to work, bringing the state back on its feet. He ushered in a paradigm shift in the development journey of Gujarat. With the Mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, Shri Modi led Team Gujarat towards all-round and all-inclusive growth. The focus on the 5 Shaktis (powers), known popularly as Panchamrut- Gyan Shakti (Education), Jal Shakti (Water), Urja Shakti (Energy), Raksha Shakti (Security) and Jan Shakti (People) laid the foundation for good governance in Gujarat. Today, Gujarat’s development journey is built on the strong foundation of all 3 sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, industry and services. Every single person is an active participant in the state’s development journey. Gujarat’s development has won praise from both India and overseas. People of Gujarat have time and again reposed faith in BJP and Shri Modi as he led the party to record victories in 2002, 2007 and 2012 Assembly Elections. He is the longest serving CM of Gujarat. On 9th June 2013 Narendra Modi was made the Chief of the BJP’s Campaign Committee for 2014 Lok Sabha Elections and on 13th September 2013 Narendra Modi was declared as the NDA’s Prime Ministerial candidate. This announcement has been met with thumping applause from all over India as people look to the NDA and Narendra Modi to usher in a golden era of India’s progress, so that we can once again emerge as the leader of the world!