Rahul Gandhi & Narendra Modi PM Candidate In India
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| Rahul Gandhi MP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vice President of the Indian National Congress | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 19 January 2013 | |
| President | Sonia Gandhi |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 September 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Chairperson of the National Students Union | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 September 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| General Secretary of the Indian National Congress | |
| In office 25 September 2007 – 19 January 2013 | |
| President | Sonia Gandhi |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Amethi | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 17 May 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Sonia Gandhi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 June 1970 New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi Harvard University Rollins College Trinity College, Cambridge |
Rahul Gandhi 
pronunciation (help·info) [ˈraːɦʊl ˈɡaːnd̪ʱiː]; (born 19 June 1970) is the Vice President of the Indian National Congress party and the Chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. Gandhi served as a General Secretary in the All India Congress Committee and represents Amethi as its Member of Parliament (MP). He is the second-ranked member of the Congress Working Committee.[1]
pronunciation (help·info) [ˈraːɦʊl ˈɡaːnd̪ʱiː]; (born 19 June 1970) is the Vice President of the Indian National Congress party and the Chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. Gandhi served as a General Secretary in the All India Congress Committee and represents Amethi as its Member of Parliament (MP). He is the second-ranked member of the Congress Working Committee.[1]
Gandhi comes from the politically influential Nehru–Gandhi family. His late father, Rajiv Gandhi, had served as the Prime Minister of India and had beenPresident of the Congress Party. His mother Sonia Gandhi is currently serving as President of the Congress. He grew up in New Delhi, where his grandmotherIndira Gandhi, was serving as Prime Minister until her assassination in 1984. His father was likewise assassinated in 1991. Due to security concerns, Gandhi constantly had to shift schools in his youth. He studied abroad under a pseudonym, his identity being known only to a select few including university officials and security agencies.[2]
After obtaining degrees in international relations and development studies at the universities of Rollins and Cambridge, Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm in London, before establishing theMumbai-based technology outsourcing firm, Backops Services Private Ltd. In 2004, Gandhi re-entered public life; he ran for and won his father's old seat of Amethi in India's national legislature. A few years later, in 2007, Gandhi was elected as the General Secretary of the Congress party, a previously executive post held by his father, and by his great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru. Once described as a youth icon, Gandhi is the leader of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.[3] Amidst calls from Congress party veterans for his greater involvement in party politics and national government, Gandhi was elected Congress Vice President in 2013.[1]
Early life and career
Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970,[4] as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India, and Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who later became President of Indian National Congress, and as the grandson of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He is also the great-grandson of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister[5] and Robert Vadra is his brother-in-law.
Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School,
| Narendra Modi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 14th Chief Minister of Gujarat | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 October 2001 | |
| Governor | Sunder Singh Bhandari Kailashpati Mishra Balram Jakhar Nawal Kishore Sharma S. C. Jamir Kamla Beniwal |
| Preceded by | Keshubhai Patel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Narendra Damodardas Modi 17 September 1950 Vadnagar, India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse(s) | Jashodaben Chimanlal (Child marriage; estranged) |
| Alma mater | Gujarat University Delhi University |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Delhi[6] before entering The Doon School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) from 1981 to 1983. Meanwhile, his father had joined politics and became the Prime Minister on 31 October 1984 when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Due to the security threats faced by Indira Gandhi's family from Sikh extremists, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka were home-schooled thereafter.[7] Rahul Gandhi joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations.[2] In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE[8] during an election rally, he shifted to Rollins College due to security concerns and completed his B.A. in 1994.[9] During this period, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies.[2][10] He further went on to obtain an M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1995.[11] After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London.[12] In 2002 he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.[13]
Political career
In March 2004, Rahul Gandhi announced his entry into politics by announcing that he would contest the May 2004 elections, standing for his father's former constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament.[14] The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. The Congress had been doing poorly in Uttar Pradesh, holding only 10 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state at the time.[15] At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed. It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's political fortunes among India's youthful population[16] In his first interview with foreign media, Gandhi portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions.[14]
Gandhi won, retaining the family stronghold with a margin of over 100,000.[17] Until 2006 he held no other office.[18]
Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka managed their mother's campaign for re-election to Rae Bareilly in 2006, which was won easily with a margin greater than 400,000 votes.[19] He was a prominent figure in the Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections; Congress, however, won only 22 seats of the 403 seats with 8.53% of votes.[20]
Gandhi was appointed General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat.[21] In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.[22] In 2008, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily mentioned "Rahul-as-PM" idea when the PM of India Manmohan Singh was still abroad.[23]
In July 2012, Union Law Minister, Salman Khurshid stated that Gandhi should provide a "new ideology" to meet the present day challenges, the Congress party was facing.[24]
On 19 January 2013, in a party conclave of the AICC, Gandhi formally took charge as Congress Vice President. He was elevated to the post of Vice President at the party's Jaipur conclave.[25] As vice-president, he is second only to party President and his mother Sonia Gandhi.[26]
On 27 September 2013, Gandhi surprised everyone by openly criticizing Prime Minister of India and his government for coming out with an ordinance to undo the effect of the order passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India by which convicted criminals could not contest election.[27]
His rise to the top of the Congress Party has not been without controversy. As a member of the Nehru–Gandhi family, many, such as his political opponents in the BJP and AAP see him as a symbol of dynastic politics in the Congress Party.[28]
His recent efforts as a lawmaker have centered around anti-corruption legislation and those that provide definitive rights to specific segments of society. Gandhi has been pushing six pieces of legislation currently in draft form, namely the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill; the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill; the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill; the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill; the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill and the Public Procurement Bill.[29]
Gandhi has pushed for women empowerment.[30][31] He has backed the Women's Reservation Bill which would allow 33% reservation of all Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly seats for women. This bill passed the Rajya Sabha on 9 March 2010 but has not yet been voted on by the Lok Sabha as of February 2014.[32][33][34] Gandhi has also backed the repeal ofSection 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the decriminalisation of homosexuality.[35]
Youth politics
In September 2007 when he was appointed general secretary in charge of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI), Gandhi promised to reform youth politics.[36] In his attempt to prove himself thus, in November 2008 Gandhi held interviews at his 12, Tughlak Lane residence in New Delhi to handpick at least 40 people who will make up the think-tank of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), an organisation that he has been keen to transform since he was appointed general secretary in September 2007.[37]
Under Gandhi, the IYC and NSUI have seen a dramatic increase in members from two lakhs to twenty five lakhs.[38] The Indian Express wrote in 2011, "Three years later, as another organisational reshuffle is in the offing, Gandhi's dream remains unrealised with party veterans manipulating internal elections in the Youth Congress and a host of people with questionable background gaining entry into it."[39]
2009 elections
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi retained his Amethi seat by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. Gandhi was credited with the Congress revival in Uttar Pradesh where they won 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats.[40] He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks. The nationwide elections defied the predictions made by pre-poll predictions and exit polls and gave a clear mandate to the incumbent Congress government (80 seats gained).
Land acquisition protests arrest
On 11 May 2011, Gandhi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police at Bhatta Parsaul village after he turned out in support ofagitating farmers demanding more compensation for their land being acquired for a highway project.Rahul stood with the farmers for over 15 hours as they were demanding their rights. Gandhi was taken away from the protest site in Bhatta Parsaul to the Kasna police station. Later, in around three hours, he was given bail and dropped off at the Delhi-UP border.[41]
2012 Assembly elections
Gandhi campaigned during the 2012 Assembly elections in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh election for almost two months, holding 200 rallies. However Congress emerged as the fourth party in the state, winning 28 seats, an increase of six seats from the previous 2007 elections. Out of the 15 seats in the Amethi parliamentary constituency, Congress won 2 of the 15 seats.[42][43]
Congress activists defended the result in Uttar Pradesh, saying "there's a big difference between state elections and national polls and in the end there is only the first family, a hope and a prayer",[44] and pointing out the turn around attributed to Gandhi in the 2009 Lok Sabha national elections in the state. However, Rahul Gandhi publicly accepted responsibility for the result in an interview after the result was declared.[45]
In the Gujarat assembly elections held later in the year, Gandhi was not made the head of the election campaign. This was seen and regarded by opponents as an admission of defeat and was termed as a tactic to avoid blame of defeat.[46][47][48]Congress won 57 seats in the assembly of 182, which was 2 less than the previous elections in 2007. Later in bypolls, Congress lost 4 more seats to BJP.
After Parliament cleared the Lokpal Bill and the Lokayuktas Bill, 2013, Rahul Gandhi has been actively participated in promoting six other anti-corruption bills in the parliament.[49] He talks about them in his public rallies.[50] These bills are the Public Procurement Bill, the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment) Bill, the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, The Right of Citizens for Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill and the Whistleblowers Protection Bill has been.[51]
2014 Lok Sabha elections
Rahul Gandhi is contesting from his constituency, Amethi.[52] and is leading the election campaign of the Indian National Congress in the elections.[53]
Political and social views
National security
In December 2010 during the United States diplomatic cables leak, WikiLeaks leaked a cable dated 3 August 2009, where the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singhhad hosted a lunch on 20 July 2009 for Rahul Gandhi, then the General Secretary of the AICC. One of the guests who was invited for the lunch was the then United States Ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer. In a "candid conversation" with Roemer, he said that he believes Hindu extremists pose a greater threat to his country than Muslim militants. Rahul Gandhi referred specifically to more-polarising figures in the Bharatiya Janata Party. Also responding to the ambassador's query about the activities in the region by the Islamist militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Rahul Gandhi said there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim population.[54][55] In a response to this, the BJP heavily criticised Rahul Gandhi for his statements. BJP spokesperson, Ravi Shankar Prasadslammed Rahul Gandhi saying that his language was a bigger threat to India, dividing the people of the country on communal grounds. Speaking to reporters, Prasad said, "In one stroke Mr. Rahul Gandhi has sought to give a big leverage to the propaganda to all the extremist and terrorist groups in Pakistan, and also some segments of Pakistani establishment. It would also seriously compromise India's fight against terror as also our strategic security." Adding that terrorism has no religion, he said that Rahul Gandhi had shown his lack of understanding India.[56]
Rahul Gandhi has also been critical of groups like the RSS and has compared them to terrorist organisations likeSIMI.[57][58]
After the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, at a Madhya Pradesh election rally in Indore, Rahul Gandhi claimed that a police officer has told him that Pakistan’s ISI was trying to recruit disgruntled riot-affected youngsters.[59][60] However, the district administration, the UP state government, the Union Home Ministry, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) denied any such development.[61][62] This remark drew heavy criticism from various political outifts such as BJP, SP, CPI and JD(U).[63] Congress's Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi needed to apologize to the Muslim community for this remark.[64] In reply to the ECI's show-cause notice to explain why action should not be initiated against him for violating the Model Code of Conduct, Gandhi said that he didn't intend to exploit communal sentiments but was referring to divisive politics.[65] The BJP also asked the government to explain why Gandhi, who holds no post in the government, is being briefed by intelligence officers on important security issues.[66] On 13 November 2013, Election Commission of India finding Gandhi's explanation to be insufficient conveyed its displeasure and advised him to be more circumspect in his public utterances during election campaigns.[67]
Lokpal
Rahul Gandhi opines that the Lokpal should be made a constitutional body and it should be made accountable to the Parliament, just like the Election Commission of India. He also feels that Lokpal alone cannot root out corruption. This statement came out on 25 August 2011, on the 10th day of Anna Hazare's fast. This statement was considered as a delaying tactic by the opposition and Team Anna's members. It was consequently slammed by prominent opposition leadersSushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.[68] The Parliamentary Standing Committee led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi tabled the Jan Lokpal Bill report in the Rajya Sabha on 9 December 2011. The report recommended the Lokpal to be made into a constitutional body. In response, Hazare attacked Rahul Gandhi, claiming he had made the bill "weak and ineffective".[69]
Poverty
According to Gandhi, poor people should dream the biggest dreams as it is important for progress of the country.[70][71]
During a function in Allahabad, Gandhi termed poverty as a "state of mind" for which he drew sharp criticism from various sections.[72][73]
Personal life
In 2004, Rahul Gandhi told the press that he had a girlfriend, Veronique Cartelli, a Spanish architect who lives inVenezuela.[74][75]
Narendra Damodardas Modi
( pronunciation (help·info), born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician and is the incumbent and 14th Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is theprime ministerial candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the2014 Indian general elections.
pronunciation (help·info), born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician and is the incumbent and 14th Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is theprime ministerial candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the2014 Indian general elections.
Modi was a key strategist for the BJP in the successful 1995 and 1998 Gujarat state election campaigns, and was a major campaign figure in the 2009 general elections, eventually won by the Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). He first became chief minister of Gujarat in October 2001 after the resignation of his predecessor, Keshubhai Patel, and following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. In July 2007, he became the longest-serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history, at which point he had been in power for 2,063 days continuously. He is currently serving his fourth consecutive term as Chief Minister.
Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and is described as a Hindu nationalist by media, scholars and himself.[1][2][3][4] He is a controversial figure both within India and internationally[5][6][7][8] as his administration has been criticised for the incidents surrounding the 2002 Gujarat riots.[8][9] He has been praised for his economic policies, which are credited with creating an environment for a high rate of economic growth in Gujarat.[10] However, his administration has also been criticised for failing to make a significant positive impact upon the human development of the state.
Early life and education
Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a family of grocers belonging to thebackward Ghanchi (oil-presser) community, in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay Presidency (present-day Gujarat), India.[12][13][14][15][16] He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife, Heeraben. He helped his father sell tea at Vadnagar railway station when a child and as a teenager he ran a tea stall with his brother near a bus terminus.[17][18] He completed his schooling in Vadnagar, where a teacher described him as being an average student, but a keen debater who had an interest in theatre.[17] That interest has influenced how he now projects himself in politics.[19]
Modi's parents arranged his marriage as a child, in keeping with the traditions of the Ghanchi caste. He was engaged at the age of 13 to Jashodaben Chimanlal and the couple were married by the time he was 18. They spent very little time together and were soon estranged because Modi decided to pursue an itinerant life.[17][20] However as per Modi's biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, the marriage was never consummated.[21] Having remained silent on the question of marriage in four previous election campaigns, and having claimed that his status as a single person meant that he had no reason to be corrupt, Modi acknowledged Jashodaben as his legal spouse when filling in his nomination form for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.[22][23]
Little is known of the two years that Modi spent travelling, probably in the Himalayas, and he resumed selling tea upon his return. He then worked in the staff canteen of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation until he became a full–timepracharak (propagandist) of the RSS in 1970. He had been involved with the RSS as a volunteer from the age of eight and had come into contact with Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, leaders of the Jan Sangh who later founded the BJP's Gujarat state unit.[17][24] After Modi had received some RSS training in Nagpur, which was a prerequisite for taking up an official position in the Sangh Parivar, he was given charge of Sangh's student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, in Gujarat. Modi organised agitations and covert distribution of Sangh's pamphlets during the Emergency.[17] Modi graduated in political science from Delhi University.[21] Modi remained a pracharak in the RSS while he completed his Master's degreein political science from Gujarat University.[25]
Early political career
Modi formally joined the RSS after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[21] In 1975, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency and jailed political opponents. Modi went underground in Gujarat, occasionally disguised, and printed and sent booklets against the central government to Delhi.[21] He also participated in the movement against the Emergency under Jayaprakash Narayan.[26][27] The RSS assigned Modi to the BJP in 1985.[24] WhileShankarsingh Vaghela and Keshubhai Patel were the established names in the Gujarat BJP at that time, Modi rose to prominence after organising Murli Manohar Joshi's Kanyakumari-Srinagar Ekta yatra (Journey for Unity) in 1991.[17] In 1988, Modi was elected as organizing secretary of BJP's Gujarat unit,[28] marking his formal entry into mainstream politics.[21] As secretary, his electoral strategy was central to BJP's victory in the 1995 state elections.[24][29][30]
In November 1995, Modi was elected National Secretary of BJP and was transferred to New Delhi where he was assigned responsibility for the party's activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.[29][31] Vaghela defected from the BJP after he lost the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, having previously threatened to do so in 1995.[17] Modi was promoted to the post of General Secretary(Organisation) of the BJP in May 1998. While on the selection committee for the 1998 assembly elections in Gujarat, Modi favoured supporters of Patel over those loyal to Vaghela, in an attempt to put an end to the factional divisions within the party. His strategies were credited as being key to winning the 1998 elections.[29]
Chief Minister of Gujarat
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In 2001, Keshubhai Patel's health was failing, and the BJP had lost seats in the by-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were being made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the Bhuj Earthquake of 2001.[29][32][33] As a result, the BJP's national leadership sought a new candidate for the office of chief minister, and Modi, who had aired his misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement.[17] L. K. Advani, a senior leader of the BJP, did not want to ostracise Patel and was worried about Modi's lack of experience in governance. Modi declined an offer to be Patel's deputy chief minister, informing Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all", and on 7 October 2001, Modi was appointed the Chief Minister of Gujarat, with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for elections in December 2002. As Chief Minister, Modi's ideas of governance revolved around privatisation and small government, which stood at odds with what political commentator Aditi Phadnis has described as the "anti-privatisation, anti-globalisation position" of the RSS.[32]
First term (2001-2002)
2002 Gujarat riots
Main article: 2002 Gujarat riots
On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers including large numbers of Hindu pilgrims was burned nearGodhra, killing around 60 people.[a] Following rumors that the fire was carried out by Muslim arsonists, anti-Muslim violencespread throughout Gujarat.[36] Estimates of the death toll ranged from 900 to over 2,000, while several thousand more people were injured.[37][38] The Modi government imposed a curfew in major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders, and called for the army to prevent the violence from escalating.[39][40] However, human rights organizations, opposition parties, and sections of the media all accused Gujarat's government of taking insufficient action against the riots, and even condoning it in some cases.[39][40][41] Modi's decision to move the corpses of the Kar Sevaks who had been burned to death in Godhra to Ahmedabad had been criticised for inflaming the violence.[42][43] In April 2009, the Supreme Court appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the Gujarat government and Narendra Modi's role in the incidents of communal violence.[41] The SIT reported to the court in December 2010 submitting that they did not find any substantial incriminating evidence against Modi of willfully allowing communal violence in the state.[44]
Despite the SIT report, Modi's involvement in the events of 2002 has continued to be debated. Though the SIT absolved Modi in April 2012 of any involvement in the Gulbarg Society massacre, one of the many riots that occurred in 2002,[45][46]the Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran, observed on 7 May 2012 that Modi could be prosecuted for promoting enmity among different groups during the 2002 Gujarat riots. His main contention was that the evidence should be examined by a court of law because the SIT was required to investigate but not to judge.[47] His report was criticised by the SIT for relying heavily on the testimony of Sanjiv Bhatt, who they said had fabricated the documents used as evidence.[48] In July 2013, victim Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre, alleged that the SIT was suppressing evidence[49] however her plea against the clean-chit to Modi was rejected by the Courts. On 26 December 2013, an Ahmedabad court which was asked by the Supreme Court to handle the case, accepted the clean chit given to Modi in relation to the riots.[50]
In 2012, Maya Kodnani, another of Modi's former ministers from 2007 - 2009, was convicted of having participated in theNaroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 riots.[51][52] She was both the first female and the first MLA to be convicted in a post-Godhra riots case.[53] While initially announcing that it would seek the death penalty for Kodnani, Modi's government eventually pardoned her in 2013 and settled for a prison sentence.[54][55][56]
2002 election
Main article: Gujarat legislative assembly election, 2002
In the aftermath of the violence, there were widespread calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. These came from both within and outside the state, including from the leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and theTelugu Desam Party, which were allies in then BJP-led NDA government at the centre. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue.[57][58] In April 2002, at the national executive meeting of BJP at Goa, Modi submitted his resignation; however, it was rejected by the party.[59] On 19 July 2002, Modi's cabinet had an emergency meeting and offered its resignation to the Governor of Gujarat, S. S. Bhandari, and the assembly was dissolved.[60][61] In the subsequent elections, the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.[62] Modi made significant use of anti-Muslim rhetoric during his election campaign.[63][64][65]
Second term (2002–2007)
Despite using anti-Muslim rhetoric during the campaign, Modi's emphasis shifted during his second term from Hindutva to the economic development of Gujarat.[32] Modi's decisions curtailed the influence of organizations of the Sangh Parivar such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP),[66] which had become entrenched in Gujarat after the decline of Ahmedabad's textile industry.[32] Modi dropped Gordhan Zadafia, an ally of his former Sangh co–worker and VHP state chief Praveen Togadia, from the cabinet ministry. When the BKS launched a farmers' agitation, Modi ordered their eviction from houses provided by the state government. Modi's decision to demolish 200 illegal temples in Gandhinagardeepened the rift with VHP.[66][67] Various organisations of the Sangh were no longer consulted nor informed of Modi's administrative decisions prior to their enactment.[66]
The changes brought by Modi in the period 2002–2007 has led to Gujarat being called an attractive investment destination. Aditi Phadnis writes that "there was sufficient anecdotal evidence pointing to the fact that corruption had gone down significantly in the state... if there was to be any corruption, Modi had to know about it".[32] Modi started financial and technology parks in the state. During the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real estate investment deals worth ₹6.6 trillion were signed in Gujarat.[32]
Despite his focus on economic issues during the second term, Modi continued to be criticised for his relationship with Muslims. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Prime Minister of India, who had asked Modi not to discriminate between citizens in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat violence and had pushed for his resignation as Chief Minister of Gujarat,[68][69] distanced himself from Modi and reached out to North Indian Muslims before the 2004 elections to the Lok Sabha. After the elections, Vajpayee held that the violence in Gujarat had been one of the reasons for BJP's electoral defeat and acknowledged that not removing Modi immediately after the Gujarat violence was a mistake.[70][71]
Terrorism and elections in 2007–2008
Further information: Gujarat legislative assembly election, 2007
In the run up to the assembly elections in 2007 and the general election in 2009, the BJP stepped up its rhetoric on terrorism.[72] On 18 July 2006, Modi criticised the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, "... for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" such as the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act. He asked the national government to allow states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the 2006 blasts in Mumbai.[73] Around this time Modi frequently demanded the execution of Afzal Guru,[74] a collaborator of the Pakistani jihadists who had been convicted of terrorism for his involvement in the2001 Indian Parliament attack.[75][b] As a consequence of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Modi held a meeting to discuss security of Gujarat's 1,600 km (990 mi) long coastline which resulted in the central government authorisation of 30 high–speed surveillance boats.[76]
In July 2007, Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post.[77] The BJP won 122 of the 182 seats in the state assembly in the 2007 election, and Modi continued as chief minister.[78]
Third term (2007–2012)
Development projects
Successive BJP governments under Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of infrastructure projects for conservation of groundwater. Gujarat is a semi-arid state and, according to Tushaar Shah, was "... never known for agrarian dynamism". By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been constructed, of which 113,738 were check dams. While most check dams remained empty during the pre-monsoon season, they helped recharge the aquifers that lie beneath them.[79] 60 of the 112 tehsils which were found to have over–exploited the groundwater table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater level by 2010,[80] meaning that Gujarat had managed to increase its groundwater levels at a time when they were falling in all other Indian states. As a result, production of genetically-modified Bt cotton, which could now be irrigated using tube wells, increased to become the largest in India.[79] The boom in cotton production and utilization of semi–arid land[81] saw the agriculture growth rate of Gujarat increase to 9.6% in the period 2001–2007.[82] Though public irrigation measures in the central and southern areas, such as the Sardar Sarovar Project, have not been as successful in achieving their aims,[79] for the decade 2001–2010, Gujarat recorded an agriculturalgrowth rate of 10.97%, the highest among all Indian states.[81]
The system of supplying power to rural areas has been changed radically and has had a greater impact on agriculture than the irrigation works. While states such as Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu provided free electricity to farms, and most other states provided subsidised power, the Gujarat government between 2003–2006 reacted to concerns that such measures result in waste of power and groundwater. With the Jyotigram Yojana scheme, based on ideas developed by theInternational Water Management Institute, the agricultural electricy supply was rewired to separate it from other rural power supplies. Then, the electricity used by farms was rationed to fit scheduled demand for irrigation, which consequently reduced the cost of the subsidy. At first, the farmers objected to this, but came to realise that the supply suffered less from interruption, was more consistent in voltage and was available when they most needed it for irrigation purposes. Other states have since begun to adopt similar, although not identical, strategies.[79]
Debate on Gujarat's development under Modi
Modi's government has worked to brand Gujarat as a state of dynamic development, economic growth and prosperity, using the slogan "Vibrant Gujarat".[83][84][85] However, critics have pointed to Gujarat's relatively poor record on human development, poverty alleviation, nutrition, and education. The state is 13th in India for poverty, 21st for education, 44.7 percent of children under five are underweight and 23 percent are undernourished putting the state in the "alarming" category on the India State Hunger Index.[86] In contrast, officials from the state of Gujarat claim that Gujarat outperformed India as a whole in the rates of improvement of multiple human indicators, such as female education, between 2001 and 2011. Furthermore, they claim that the school dropout rates declined from 20 percent in 2001 to 2 percent in 2011, and that maternal mortality declined by 32 percent from 2001 to 2011.[87]
Political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot asserts that the development in Gujarat has been limited to the urban middle class, while rural dwellers and lower castes have become increasingly marginalised. He cites the fact that Gujarat ranks 10th among the 21 Indian states in the Human Development Index, which he attributes to the lower development in rural Gujarat. He states that under Modi, the number of families living below the poverty line has increased, and that particularly rural adivasi and dalits have become increasingly marginalised.[88] In July 2013, Economics Nobel Laureate Amartya Sencriticised Narendra Modi's governance record and said he did not approve of it, saying that under Modi's administration, Gujarat's "record in education and healthcare is pretty bad".[89] However, economists Arvind Panagariya and Jagdish Bhagwati state that Gujarat's social indicator improved from a much lower baseline than other Indian states. They state that Gujarat's performance in raising literacy rates has been superior to other states in India, and the "rapid" improvement of health indicators in Gujarat as evidence that "its progress has not been poor by any means."[90]
Election Commission's cautioning
In 2007, Modi was cautioned by the Election Commission of India for his speech at Mangrol, in which he justified theextrajudicial killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The Commission considered the speech to be "indulging in an activity that might aggravate existing differences between different communities."[91] Modi had made this speech in response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death", referring to Sohrabuddin's killing.[92] Amit Shah, a close aid of Modi's, was indicted for being involved in the killing.[93]
Sadbhavana Mission and fasts
During late 2011 and early 2012, Modi undertook a series of fasts as part of a Sadbhavna Mission (Goodwill Mission), meant to reach out to the Muslim community in Gujarat.[94] Modi announced that he believed that his fast would "further strengthen Gujarat’s environment of peace, unity and harmony."[95]
The mission started on 17 September 2011 in Ahmedabad with a three-day fast. He subsequently observed 36 fasts in 26 districts and eight cities.[96] However, these fasts were not well received by all Muslims; for example, one incident in which Modi refused to wear a skull cap offered to him by a Muslim cleric named Sayed Imam Shahi Saiyed[97] of a Dargah in Piranawas deemed an insult by the cleric.[98] Another example occurred when Modi was fasting in Godhra, the site of the train burning that sparked the 2002 riots: a number of activists were detained for allegedly planning rallies against Modi.[99][100] Although some criticised his fast as a public relations mission,[101] Modi himself denied that the mission was about wooing "any particular community or religion".[102]
In 2011, the Supreme Court complimented the Gujarat Government for its land acquisition policy as there were "no complaints of any forcible acquisition" whereas issues of farmers and poor being uprooted are pouring in from all other states.[103]
Appointments and disagreements with the governor
On 25 August 2011, the governor of Gujarat, Kamla Beniwal, appointed Justice R. A. Mehta to the post of Lokayukta of Gujarat, a critical anti–corruption post that had been lying vacant since 2003. Mehta was recommended for the post by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in June 2011.[104] Beniwal made this decision without consulting Modi and his council of ministers.[105] This marked the beginning of a strained relationship between Modi and Beniwal. On 25 September 2011, Modi accused the Governor of running a parallel government in the state supported by the Indian National Congress party and demanded that she be recalled.[106] The appointment of Mehta was challenged in the High Court by the Gujarat government. The two-member high court bench gave a split verdict on 10 October 2011. A third member upheld the appointment in January 2012.[107]
Modi has also accused Beniwal of delaying a bill for reservation of 50% of seats in local government for women.[108]
Press and public relations
In 2011, the Gujarat state organisation of the Indian National Congress party banned the Gujarati-language TV 9 television channel from covering its events and prevented access to its press conferences.[109] Modi criticised this decision, saying that
Journalists on Twitter who spoke against Congress, were blocked. Here they banned a TV channel. Their crime is that they exposed cracks in the ghar nu ghar (own your home) scheme of the Congress. Yet this party talks about democracy.[110]
Modi interacted with netizens on Google+ on 31 August 2012.[111] The chat session was also broadcast live on YouTube.[111] The questions were submitted before the chat, and those broadcast were mostly based on issues about education, youth empowerment, rural development and causes of urbanisation.[112] The hashtag #ModiHangout became the most trending term in India at Twitter on the day of the session, whereas #VoteOutModi, used by Modi's opponents, became the third most trending term in the country.[111] The event made Modi the first Indian politician to interact with netizens through live chat on the internet.[113]
Fourth term (2012–present)
Further information: Gujarat legislative assembly election, 2012
In the 2012 Gujarat legislative assembly elections, Modi won from the constituency of Maninagar with a majority of 86,373 votes over Sanjiv Bhatt's wife, Shweta, who was contesting for the Indian National Congress.[115] The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing the majority that the party has had throughout Modi's tenure,[116]and allowing the party to form the government, as it has in Gujarat since 1995[117]
In later by-elections, the BJP won an additional four assembly seats and 2 Lok Sabha seats that were all held by the Indian National Congress prior to the by-elections, even though Modi never campaigned for its candidates.[118] This brought the number of seats held by the BJP in the state assembly up to 119.
Central politics
Path to candidacy for prime minister
Modi had been a significant figure in the 2009 national general election campaign.[119][120] In March 2013, Modi was appointed to the BJP Parliamentary Board, the highest decision-making body of the party, and was chosen to be chairman of the Central Election Campaign Committee of the party.[121][122] On 10 June 2012, Modi was selected to head the poll campaign for 2014 general election, at the national level executive meeting of BJP. The party's senior leader and founding member Lal Krishna Advani resigned from all his posts at the party following the selection, protesting against leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas"; the resignation was described by The Times of India as "a protest against Narendra Modi's elevation as the chairman of the party's election committee". However, Advani withdrew his resignation the next day at the urging of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.[123] In September 2013, BJP announced Modi as their prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.[124]
2014 general election
Narendra Modi contested the election from two constituencies: Varanasi[125] and theVadodara.[126] His candidacy was supported by spiritual leaders Ramdev and Morari Bapu,[127] and by economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya, who have stated that they, "...are impressed by Modi's economics." [128] His detractors included Nobel Prize laureate economist Amartya Sen, who said that he did not want Modi as a Prime Minister because he had not done enough to make minorities feel safe, and that under Modi, Gujarat's record in health and education provision has been "pretty bad".[89]
Uttarakhand floods controversy
On 23 June 2013, The Times of India published a report titled Modi in Rambo act, saves 15,000.[129] The report stated that Modi had commissioned Boeings, SUVs, and luxury buses to rescue 15,000 Gujarati victims of the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.[130][131] The actions as reported by Times of India were widely disbelieved because of the enormity of the task.[132] A controversy followed with allegations that Modi was attempting to create a "Rambo" image in the minds of the Indian public,[133] that he was giving preferential treatment to Gujaratis, and that he was visiting the area despite the government in Uttarakhand having discouraged such visits to prevent diversion of attention and resources from rescue efforts.[134][135][136] BJP representatives denied that Modi himself had ever stated that he had intervened in the rescue operation, and conceded that perhaps BJP workers had contributed to the impression of Modi's personal involvement.[137][138] On 14 July, The Times of India published a clarification saying that Modi's government had assisted 15,000 flood victims from several states, and not 15,000 Gujaratis as had been reported earlier.[139] The clarification said that the BJP spokesperson had not exaggerated the facts or attempted to mislead the public, and added that The Times of India was "mortified by the controversy surrounding the report".[139][140] After the publication of the clarification, the initial Times of India report was called a "hoax",[139] and media outlets were criticised by the BJP for publishing editorials critical of Modi without checking facts.[141]
International diplomacy
To attract foreign investment in Gujarat during his time as chief minister, Modi made visits to countries such as China, Singapore and Japan.[142] He also visited China in November 2006 to study the Special Economic Zones that were about to be implemented in Gujarat.[143] He again visited in September 2007[144] and later in November 2011. A month after his visit of 2011, the Chinese Government released 13 diamond traders from India who had been jailed by the Shenzhen Customs, which Modi attributed to his diplomatic efforts and statesmanship.[145][146]
In 2005, Modi was denied a diplomatic visa to the United States. In addition, the B-1/B-2 visa that had previously been granted to him was also revoked, under a section of theImmigration and Nationality Act which makes any foreign government official who was responsible or "directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom" ineligible for the visa.[147]In July 2013, BJP president Rajnath Singh visited the US and gave a speech urging the US to grant Modi a visa to visit the country.[148][149] In response to Singh's visit, 65 Members of the Indian parliament allegedly signed a letter to US PresidentBarack Obama requesting that the policy of denying Modi a visa be upheld.[150] However, the veracity of some of the signatures has been called into question, as Sitaram Yechury and purported signatories have denied ever signing such a petition[151] In March 2014, when asked if Washington was ready to do business with Modi, U.S. Assistant Secretary of StateNisha Biswal commented that "the United States has welcomed every leader (of India)", and "a democratically elected leader of India will be a welcome partner".[152]
A report in April 2014 in the Sunday Guardian revealed that by the end of 2012, a reversal in foreign policy towards Modi by Obama had occurred. Previously, during the tenure of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, efforts were made to "get Narendra Modi", apparently for the 2002 Gujarat riots, but in reality "for taking stands that may be different from that favoured by the US administration". The clandestine operation had run through European NGOs, and efforts were made to find mass-graves in Gujarat, which could be presented as "evidence of genocide" to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. According to the report, despite six years of searching, aided by local politicians, "no evidence whatsoever of mass graves was uncovered".[153]
In 2011, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, impressed with the development of Gujarat, invited Modi to visit Pakistan and address prominent business leaders. They also asked him to consider a flight between Karachi and Ahmedabad, on account of the historical cultural and economic relations between the two regions of Gujarat and Sindh. Modi wanted to help Pakistan out of its power crisis, especially in Sindh, suggesting Pakistan can follow the 'Gujarat Model' in two ways — Gujarat Solar Park and Kalpasar Project.[154]
In April 2014, in a move described as "unexpected", senior Pakistani diplomats told The Daily Telegraph that Modi is their preferred choice for the Prime Minister of India, "as he could provide the strong leadership necessary for peace talks".[155]
The United Kingdom refused to deal with Modi for a decade following the 2002 violence but lifted its diplomatic boycott in October 2012.[156] Later, in March 2013, the European Union, of which the UK is a member, also ended its boycott, saying that talking with Modi was a separate issue from that of protecting human rights and the rights of women.[157]
Personality and image
Modi is a vegetarian.[158] He has a frugal lifestyle with a personal staff of three. He is aworkaholic and an introvert.[159] He writes poems in Gujarati.[160] As a speaker, he is known as a crowd-puller.[161] He wears "business suits to business meetings, instead of homespun tunics. He still lampoons the urban, "English-speaking elite", but he is also honing his English skills."[41]
Modi has been labelled by the media and some articles in peer-reviewed journals as a controversial, polarising, and divisive figure,[162][163][164] but British economist Jim O'Neill, author of the BRIC report, wrote on his blog that Modi is "good on economics", one of the things that "India desperately needs in a leader".[165] In August 2013, financial analyst Chris Wood, chief strategist of CLSA, wrote in his weekly Greed & Fearthat "the Indian stock market's greatest hope is the emergence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate".[165]
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