On the 71st birthday of PM Narendra Modi, let's take a look at his political beginnings and his journey to becoming India's Prime Minister.
Crux of the Matter
Childhood
Born on 17th September, 1950, in Vadnagar, Mehsana district in Gujarat, Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister to be born in independent India.
Political Beginnings
He began his political journey as a member of ‘Jan Sangh’ in Ahmedabad in 1965.
RSS
He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1972 and also joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad later.
BJP
Modi joined BJP in 1987. Later in 1995, when BJP came to power in Gujarat, he was appointed as the party’s National Secretary and was later promoted to General Secretary.
Big Break As CM
In 2001, Modi replaced the then Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel after the latter resigned after the Gujarat earthquakes.
Godhra Riots
In 2002, riots broke out in Gujarat as 59 passengers died in a train fire, leading to communal violence. Modi was criticised for not doing enough to limit the violence. Later, a Special Investigative Team appointed by the Supreme Court, gave him a clean chit.
Road To PM
With Modi as the PM candidate, BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a majority of 282 seats. Currently serving his second term, PM Modi is known for major moves like abrogation of Article 370, introduction of GST, Demonetization, etc.
Curiopedia
Narendra Modi is the first non-Congress PM to win 2 terms with a majority & second non-Congress one to win two consecutive terms after Atal Bihari Vajpayee.He is also the longest serving non-Congress PM and the fourth longest serving PM after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.