In the first year of 21st century, Narendra Damodardas Modi became the youngest Chief Minister of Gujarat. It was on October 7, 2001. In the hindsight, it does not seem accidental. It looked like predestined. After an eventful and transformative 13 years as Chief Minister of such an important State in India, he was catapulted as Prime Minister May 26, 2014. Modi completes 25 years in office as CM and PM on October 7, 2026. It’s a unique record in the service of India and its people.
Any nation’s tryst with destiny hinges on its people’s sense of self-respect, self-confidence, clarity of thought, courage to dream and capacity to rise as a collective to overcome hurdles. For these virtues to manifest, it needs a fulcrum, a leader who can inspire and motivate people imbued with such traits. A capable leader can fire the imagination of the people and unleash their productive energies. Modi did it both as CM and PM.
From the word go, Modi as chief minister of Gujarat attracted attention not only in his state but across the nation. His initiatives and efforts as CM established him as a task master and performer who can deliver results and make a difference to the aspirations and lives of the people. He transformed the state into ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ and in the process laid the foundation for a ‘Vibrant India’. Modi led the BJP to power in Gujarat three times in succession. No mean achievement.
Mood of the nation – Modi the answer
Come 2014. India was despondent. Political instability haunted the nation as no government had been elected with a full majority in the Lok Sabha for 30 years. Three critical decades were marked by drift, lack of focus, quibbles, one-upmanship, draining of energies and slide in economic growth even as some Asian countries made rapid strides.
The Vajpayee government had valiantly sought to make a difference but its tenure was short. The period from 2009 to 2014 in particular marked a new low in public life and discourse. A remote controlled government in Delhi, PM’s decisions openly frowned as worthy of throwing in dust bin by remote handlers, unchecked corruption, misgovernance, rising unemployment and prices, crumbling aspirations of the people, decline in India’s global stature made the people of India despondent for a savior. They found one in Narendra Modi, who had delivered in Gujarat for 13 years.
Modi assumed office as prime minister for the first time on May 26, 2014, leading the BJP to a much-needed majority in the Lok Sabha with 282 seats. The NDA came to power with 336 seats. He led the NDA to power in Delhi twice more in 2019 and 2024. He has been Chief Minister of Gujarat four times and Prime Minister thrice. A nation in crisis found its leader in Modi.
Dawn of a new consciousness
Pre-2014 India was low in spirits. All pervasive helplessness ruled the roost. The despondent nation needed to be lifted out of the morass. It needed a new consciousness A new order of cognitive state of minds of the people based on the awareness of the situation, hope of fulfilling aspirations and confidence in a leader who understood their minds and the ground reality with proven ability to deliver.
Modi did precisely that and rose to the occasion from the start. A new consciousness dawned. Hope for a better future was restored. The nation was set on a new journey. India began to find its feet and discover itself. The last 12 years of Modi as prime minister have enabled an ignited India to hold its head high.
Modi phenomenon
The obvious question is what made Modi click? Six electoral victories, three in Gujarat and three at the national level, were major statements in themselves. In a democracy it is the connect with the people that matters in every election.
Modi proved to be a master in forging that connect through his words and deeds. He proved to be quintessential in ensuring a complete match between the two. Hence, his saga has continued for 25 years and may continue for many more. Modi is an established communicator and performer. He is peerless on the current political firmament.
Some illustrations of his performance as prime minister are in order. His keen insight into the problems of the country and the aspirations of the people holds the key to the Modi phenomenon. He thinks big and differently and acts accordingly.
Against low numbers in the pre-Modi era, dozens of new AIIMS, IITs, IIMs and NITs have been set up in the last 12 years. Hundreds of new medical colleges have come up across the country. MBBS and PG seats have risen by thousands. Health sector has seen unprecedented initiatives.
Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Village Health Clinics) as Wellness Centres have come up in lakhs of villages. Andhra Pradesh alone has got 10,032 such clinics. Ayushman Bharat is the world’s largest publicly funded health programme. Under PM-ABHIM thousands of crores are being pumped into improving health infrastructure. Digital healthcare is expanding fast.
Construction of over 4 crore houses for the poor, over 12 crore individual household toilets under Swachh Bharat, over 10 crore LPG connections for women, opening of over 57 crore bank accounts for women for financial inclusion, payment of over Rs 75,000 crore every year to farmers under PM-Kisan Samman and food security for about 80 crore people are some markers of the scale and implementation of Modi’s vision. Setting specific targets in priority areas and relentlessly striving to realise them has been the hallmark of his governance over the last 12 years. Results are visible on the ground.
Modi has also focused on making India a major soft power through various initiatives. Significant advances in the space sector, large-scale delivery of digital services including 50 percent of the world’s digital payments being made in India, supplying defence equipment to about 80 countries, the Make in India campaign, effective handling of Covid-19 besides emerging as a major supplier of vaccines, semiconductor manufacturing initiatives, forging Free Trade Agreements with several countries, being among the largest Startup ecosystems in the world and aligning foreign policy with national interests have added to India’s stature at global high tables.
Surgical strikes across the border and Operation Sindoor have decisively demonstrated that India cannot be trifled with. Being a decisive leader, he pioneered GST reforms and the abolition of Triple Talaq and Article 370 under which Jammu & Kashmir had long remained a qualified constituent of India. And no more so now.
Viksit Bharat by 2047 is the goal set by Prime Minister Modi. India ignited over the last 25 years by his words and deeds as chief minister and prime minister is taking strides in that direction. None can deny that Modi has laid strong foundations for the India of the 21st century. A new destiny is being scripted. That Narendra Damodardas Modi became chief minister of Gujarat in hindsight was not accidental. It was predestined in the interest of India’s destiny.