Narendra ModiFrom infopedia the free encyclopedia

RSS and BJP organisation (1971–2001)

Modi became a full-time RSS pracharak (worker) in Gujarat in 1971. During the Emergency (1975–77) he worked underground with the opposition movement in Gujarat. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985. He helped organise L. K. Advani's Ram Rath Yatra (1990) and Murli Manohar Joshi's Ekta Yatra (1991–92), and he became BJP national general secretary in 1998.

Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001–2014)

Modi became Chief Minister of Gujarat on 7 October 2001 and won assembly elections in 2002, 2007 and 2012. His government was known for promoting investment through events such as Vibrant Gujarat, for infrastructure and for rural electrification. Its record on health and education indicators was criticised.

His tenure was overshadowed by the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed. Critics accused his administration of failing to stop the violence. A Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team found no prosecutable evidence against him. In June 2022 the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging that clean chit.

Prime Minister: first and second terms (2014–2024)

In the 2014 general election the BJP won 282 seats, the first single-party majority since 1984, and Modi was sworn in on 26 May 2014. The BJP increased its tally to 303 seats in 2019. Major initiatives and decisions of this period include:

• Swachh Bharat Mission, Jan Dhan bank accounts, Ujjwala gas connections and Digital India
• Demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes (November 2016), which was widely debated
• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) (July 2017)
• Air strikes on Balakot, Pakistan, after the Pulwama attack (February 2019)
• Revocation of Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir (August 2019), which the Supreme Court upheld in December 2023
• The Citizenship Amendment Act (2019), which led to nationwide protests
• Three farm laws, which were repealed in November 2021 after a year of farmer protests
• The response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a nationwide lockdown and a large vaccination drive
• Inauguration of the new Parliament building (2023) and the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya (22 January 2024)

Third term (2024–present)

In the 2024 general election the BJP won 240 seats, short of a majority. The NDA won 293, and Modi was sworn in for a third term on 9 June 2024 with the support of allies including the TDP and JD(U).

After the terror attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May 2025, striking targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Four days of military conflict followed, ending in a ceasefire on 10 May. In a national address on 12 May, Modi said the operation was India's "new normal" against terrorism.

The BJP-led NDA won the Bihar assembly election in November 2025 with 202 of 243 seats. In May 2026 the BJP won West Bengal for the first time and retained Assam. In November 2026 Modi announced a target of adding 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity over the next decade, after India crossed its 50% non-fossil capacity goal in 2025.