Ahmedabad, Dec 22: From a backroom strategist to BJP's top ‘hindutva’ icon, it was a meteoric rise for Narendra Modi who was back in the saddle as Gujarat chief minister today.
Just three years ago, Modi became a BJP national general secretary with his main job a backroom strategist. He soon became the party's most visible face for the media and later Gujarat chief minister 13 months ago. Ahead of the just-concluded Gujarat Assembly polls, Modi positioned himself as the most aggressive crusader of ‘hindutva’. His passionate championing of the cause of ‘hindutva’, often bordering on what his critics allege venom, paid off handsomely for BJP in the elections.
Almost single-handedly, he led the party's bid to retain power in the state whose poll outcome was viewed as a prelude to the shape of national politics in months and years to come.
Unmindful of severe attack from critics at home and abroad, Modi stuck to his gun despite words of caution even from senior party leaders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
His personal appeal and crowd-pulling during ‘Gaurav yatra’ in post-Godhra Gujarat earned him the sobriquet "Chhote Sardar" and made even Vajpayee appear in the campaign as his advocate holding brief for him.
Bureau Report