The meteoric rise of Narendra Modi

AHMEDABAD: 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 on Sunday.

Just three years ago, Modi became a BJP national general secretary with his main job as backroom strategist. He soon became the party's most visible face for the media and later Gujarat chief minister.

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.

Modi was never apologetic about taking on "pseudo-secularists" and giving a tongue-lashing to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

In fact, he gave the menace of terrorism a new dimension in the wake of terrorist attack on Akshardham temple by successfully pleading that a victory for Congress would please Islamabad the most.

Born at Vadnagar in Mehsana district in Sept 1950, Modi obtained a Masters degree in political science. He made his mark as a firebrand youth leader when Jaiprakash Narayan launched his anti-corruption movement known as "Navnirman Andolan" in 1974.

In the following year, he became the general secretary of Lok Sangarsh Samiti in Gujarat formed to wage a struggle against the Emergency regime of Indira Gandhi.

A Sangh Pracharak, Modi is among a select band of individuals who were nominated to BJP by the Sangh. He became a general secretary of BJP's state unit in 1988 and won a number of elections from panchayats to Lok Sabha.

The big break for Modi came in 1996 when he became national general secretary of the party and showed his organisational skill by looking after its affairs in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. He was also given charge of election campaign in Madhya Pradesh.