“When you relentlessly work, you gradually get accepted”
He is the man credited with turning around BJP’s fortune, is the Prime Minister’s closest confidante and the backbone of the Union Cabinet. Here, we decode the man behind the Enigma of the Saffron Party.
Timeline
1980-89
1980-84: A young Amit Shah, joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), eventually becoming a part of its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
1987: Became a part of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, thus starting his political career.
1989-1999
In 1989 he was appointed the Secretary for BJP in Ahmedabad city, Gujarat, which marked for him the beginning of a decade that would prove crucial for his career and marked his rise to power.
Successfully united and mobilized the masses in support of the EktaYatra for the Ram Janm Bhoomi Movement.
1991: Appointed the Campaign Manager for L.K. Advani, a partnership that would last till the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, with Shah managing all of Advani’s campaigns.
1997: Contested his first election, a by-poll, from the Sarkhej Constituency, a seat he would win four consecutive times, each time by an increasing margin.
1998-1999: Became the State Secretary; then State Vice President for Gujarat BJP
2000-2013
2002: Minister in the Gujarat Government and held the key portfolios of Home, Transport and Prohibition under the leadership of Narendra Modi.
2007: Returned to the State Cabinet, this time with additional portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs, Excise and Law.
2010: Was charged in the fake encounter case of SohrabUddin Sheikh, and sent to jail for 3 months
2013: Impressed with his exceptional organizational abilities, the leadership of the party-appointed him the National General Secretary ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls Under his leadership, BJP and its NDA won 73 out of 80 seats in the state of Uttar Pradesh, and the party achieved its highest vote share ever- 42.6%
2014 and beyond
2014: In July, elevated to the position of National President of BJP after his success in Uttar Pradesh in the National Polls. With this appointment, he achieved the distinction of being the youngest Party President at the age of 49. During his first year of tenure, he won Assembly Elections in Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir
2017: He became a member of Parliament after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. 2019: With the BJP coming to power at the Centre for the 2nd time, Shah assumed the office of Union Home Minister in Modi’s Cabinet, effectively becoming the second most powerful man in India.
Meghna Singh
nice