New Delhi: Born into a rich Mumbai-based Gujarati business family, BJP President Amit Shah’s meteoric rise in Indian politics can only be compared to his mentor Narendra Modi, the incumbent Indian prime minister.
Shah, 12 years junior to Modi, came close when Modi was a small-time worker in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Shah was still active in student politics. The duo since has become inseparable, complementing each other.
Modi dreamt of liberating Gujarat form the Congress party in 1995 when BJP came to power in the state. They formed a strategy that ensured BJP remained undefeated in Gujarat for nearly two decades. The strategy was to create a new level of leaders at the village level. They picked up those who had finished second in village head elections, got them to join BJP and it turned out to be a master stroke as BJP got nearly 8,000 influential rural leaders who could swing votes in BJP’s favour.
When Modi became Gujarat chief minister in 2001, Shah emerged as his closest aide and was dully appointed as a minister in 2002. He was the youngest minister in Modi government and was allotted nearly a dozen portfolios including that of the key Home Ministry.
And this is where Shah began courting controversy. He was accused of ordering the killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kauser Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati. His political rivals claimed that Sheikh worked under Shah in an extortion racket and Shah ordered his killing as they fell out. He had to quit as the minister in 2010, was arrested and granted bail after three months on the condition that he would stay away from Gujarat.
The Modi-Shah duo moved to the central stage together when BJP decided to name Modi as its prime ministerial candidate in 2013. Shah was inducted as BJP general secretary with charge of politically crucial Uttar Pradesh. Modi’s bet to send Shah to Uttar Pradesh set the tone with the BJP winning 71 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats form the state, helping Modi become the prime minister.
It was little wonder that claims of seniors like Nitin Gadkari were overlooked as Shah was appointed its nation president by BJP in July this year.
Shah is known for his ruthless streak and is known to have sidelined seniors within the party in a systematic way, thereby creating a cadre that is loyal to him and mentor Modi.
