Final Years: Further Information

Final years
Modi with Anandiben Patel at a meeting of BJP MLAs after his election as prime minister. Patel succeeded him
as Gujarat chief minister.
Further information: 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election

Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's election campaign in 2007 and 2012
contained elements of Hindu nationalism. Modi only attended Hindu religious ceremonies, and had
prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign he twice refused to
wear articles of clothing gifted by Muslim leaders.[120] He did, however, maintain relations
with Dawoodi Bohra.[120] His campaign included references to issues known to cause religious
polarisation, including to Afzal Guru and the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not
nominate any Muslim candidates for the assembly election of 2012. [120] During the 2012 campaign,
Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira
Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by
the rest of India.[120]
While campaigning for the 2012 assembly elections, Modi made extensive use of holograms and
other technologies allowing him to reach a large number of people, [118] something he would repeat in
the 2014 general election. In the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections, Modi won the
constituency of Maninagar by 86,373 votes over Shweta Bhatt, the INC candidate and wife of Sanjiv
Bhatt.[163] The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure [164] and allowing
the party to form the government (as it had in Gujarat since 1995). [165] In later by-elections the BJP
won four more assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats held by the INC, although Modi did not
campaign for its candidates.[166] In 2013, the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) at the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote video-conference speech by Modi
following protests by Indian-Americans.[167]
Narendra Modi hands over his resignation as Maninagar MLA to the Speaker of the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha
Natrendra Modi submits his resignation as Gujarat Chief Minister to the Governor
After his election as prime minister, Modi resigned as the chief minister and as an MLA
from Maninagar on 21 May 2014. Anandiben Patel succeeded him as the chief minister. [168]
Indian general elections
Main articles: Bharatiya Janata Party campaign for the 2014 Indian general election and Bharatiya
Janata Party campaign for the 2019 Indian general election
In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister in the 2014 Lok Sabha
election.[169][170] Several BJP leaders expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, [171] including BJP
founding member L. K. Advani, who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their
personal agendas".[172] Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's election campaign. [173][174] Several
people who voted for the BJP stated that if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate, they
would have voted for another party.[169][175][176] The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a
BJP election campaign.[171][177] The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi. [156]
Modi meets his mother after winning the 2014 elections
During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government,
and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat. [156]
[171]
Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any
specific policies.[171] His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class
citizens.[156] The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious
minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism.
[156]
Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat
riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's neoliberal ideology
and the Gujarat model of development,[174] although Hindutva remained a significant part of its
campaign.[171][175][14] The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media. [161] Modi's
campaign blitz cost approximately ₹50 billion (US$700 million),[156] and received extensive financial
support from corporate donors.[161] In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made
extensive use of social media,[156][171] and addressed more than 1000 rallies
via hologram appearances.[14]
The BJP won 31% of the vote,[13] and more than doubled its tally in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming
the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since 1984.[174][175] Voter dissatisfaction with the INC,
as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP, [175] as
was the support from the RSS.[171] In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it
drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes
won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had
recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims. [175] The magnitude of the BJP's victory
led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away
from progressive parties and towards the right-wing.[156][175][178][179] Modi's tweet announcing his victory
was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state
towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism.[180]
Modi himself was a candidate for the Lok Sabha in two constituencies: Varanasi and Vadodara.
[181]
He won in both constituencies, defeating Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi
and Madhusudan Mistry of the INC in Vadodara by 570,128 votes.[182] Modi, who was unanimously
elected leader of the BJP, was appointed prime minister by India's president. [183][184] To comply with
the law that an MP cannot represent more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat. [185]

Final Years: Further Information

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Final years

Further information: 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election

Modi meets his mother after winning the 2014 elections

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