Amit Shah, who scripted history on Wednesday by becoming the youngest president of the Bharatiya Janata Party since its inception, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s closest and best-trusted political associate. He is also the key accused in the extrajudicial killing cases of alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausarbi in 2005, and the murder of Tulsiram Prajapati, principal witness in another killing – that of former Gujarat minister Haren Pandya – in 2006.
When Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, Shah served as the state’s home minister until 2010, when he was forced to resign because of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s allegations that he was involved in the extrajudicial killings that eventually led to his arrest. He spent nearly three months in Sabarmati jail.
Fascinating Duo
The relationship between Shah and Modi is worth examining. When Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, Shah handled a dozen portfolios, including home, law, prohibition and jails. He was one of the few ministers Modi listened to. As Modi’s most trusted adviser, he was on every important committee of the state.
Shah is widely seen as not just executioner of Modi’s political strategies, but also the eyes and ears of the “Saheb”, his respectful term for the prime minister. In 2013, Shah was accused of ordering illegal surveillance on a woman at the behest of Modi. Tapes emerged that indicated Shah was in regular touch with Gujarat police officials himself.
From Ban to Great Success
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission banned him from addressing rallies and making speeches after it found him guilty of delivering hate speeches designed to promote “hatred and ill will” between communities. It was only when Shah vowed in writing that he would not “use abusive or derogatory language in the campaign” that the Commission lifted the ban.
Yet, he turned out to be the BJP’s key election strategist in the Lok Sabha elections, engineering a massive victory for the party in Uttar Pradesh. He delivered 71 of the state’s 80 Parliamentary seats and helped the saffron party’s ally, Apna Dal, win another two. While announcing his name as the next chief of the party, outgoing president Rajnath Singh lauded his “management skills” and credited him with the BJP’s historic success in UP.
The BJP hopes that he can repeat this feat in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar. These elections are crucial for the party not just to consolidate gains made in the Lok Sabha elections, but also to improve its tally in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in minority.
Shah was associated with the the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a young man, working as a leader of its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Gujarat. But he was by no means the first choice of the RSS for the post of BJP chief. The RSS has resisted this appointment for some time, but ultimately Modi had his way.
Shah made his electoral debut in 1997, when he won an Assembly by-election from Sarkhej. In the state elections of 1998, 2002 and 2007, he returned from this seat. In the 2012 polls, he won from Naranpur Assembly seat. About a month ago, he was elected unopposed as president of the Gujarat Cricket Association. The post had been left vacant after the new prime minister resigned from it.
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When Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, Shah served as the state’s home minister until 2010, when he was forced to resign because of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s allegations that he was involved in the extrajudicial killings that eventually led to his arrest. He spent nearly three months in Sabarmati jail.
Fascinating Duo
The relationship between Shah and Modi is worth examining. When Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, Shah handled a dozen portfolios, including home, law, prohibition and jails. He was one of the few ministers Modi listened to. As Modi’s most trusted adviser, he was on every important committee of the state.
Shah is widely seen as not just executioner of Modi’s political strategies, but also the eyes and ears of the “Saheb”, his respectful term for the prime minister. In 2013, Shah was accused of ordering illegal surveillance on a woman at the behest of Modi. Tapes emerged that indicated Shah was in regular touch with Gujarat police officials himself.
From Ban to Great Success
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission banned him from addressing rallies and making speeches after it found him guilty of delivering hate speeches designed to promote “hatred and ill will” between communities. It was only when Shah vowed in writing that he would not “use abusive or derogatory language in the campaign” that the Commission lifted the ban.
Yet, he turned out to be the BJP’s key election strategist in the Lok Sabha elections, engineering a massive victory for the party in Uttar Pradesh. He delivered 71 of the state’s 80 Parliamentary seats and helped the saffron party’s ally, Apna Dal, win another two. While announcing his name as the next chief of the party, outgoing president Rajnath Singh lauded his “management skills” and credited him with the BJP’s historic success in UP.
The BJP hopes that he can repeat this feat in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar. These elections are crucial for the party not just to consolidate gains made in the Lok Sabha elections, but also to improve its tally in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in minority.
Shah was associated with the the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a young man, working as a leader of its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Gujarat. But he was by no means the first choice of the RSS for the post of BJP chief. The RSS has resisted this appointment for some time, but ultimately Modi had his way.
Shah made his electoral debut in 1997, when he won an Assembly by-election from Sarkhej. In the state elections of 1998, 2002 and 2007, he returned from this seat. In the 2012 polls, he won from Naranpur Assembly seat. About a month ago, he was elected unopposed as president of the Gujarat Cricket Association. The post had been left vacant after the new prime minister resigned from it.