Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi was born in Vadnagar, then part of Bombay State, the third of six children of Damodardas Mulchand Modi and Hiraben Modi. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a boy and became one of its full-time workers in Gujarat in 1971. In his election affidavit he declares a BA from Delhi University (1978) and an MA from Gujarat University (1983).

From organiser to Chief Minister

The RSS sent him to the BJP in 1985. He rose through the party's organisation in Gujarat and nationally, becoming its General Secretary (Organisation) in 1998. In October 2001, with no experience of elected office, he replaced Keshubhai Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Months later, in February 2002, a train fire at Godhra killed 59 people and was followed by communal violence across the state. Official figures put the dead at 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus; independent estimates are higher. The government's handling of the violence has followed Modi's career ever since. It led to the court cases listed below and to a decade of diplomatic boycotts by the US, the UK and the European Union.

He went on to win three assembly elections in a row, in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and built a reputation around industrial investment in Gujarat.

Prime Minister

Named the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in 2013, he led the party to 282 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, the first single-party majority in 30 years. The BJP won 303 seats in 2019. In 2024 it fell to 240, below a majority of its own, and he formed his third government with the support of allies in the National Democratic Alliance.

His governments have carried out some of the largest changes in recent Indian policy:

• the Swachh Bharat sanitation campaign and the Jan Dhan bank account scheme (2014)
• the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in November 2016
• the Goods and Services Tax (2017)
• the end of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 (2019)
• the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (2019)
• three farm laws (2020), withdrawn in 2021 after a year of farmer protests

The government presents these as reforms that cleaned up the economy and expanded welfare. Opposition parties and many economists criticised the note withdrawal for hurting small businesses and informal workers. The citizenship law drew nationwide protests from people who said it discriminated against Muslims; the government says it protects persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries. Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index and the V-Dem Institute's democracy reports have marked India down during his tenure; his government has rejected both assessments.

What the record shows

Modi's 2024 affidavit declares no criminal cases and no convictions. It lists assets of about Rs 3.02 crore, almost all of it in bank deposits, and no land, house, vehicle or loans. His spouse is named as Jashodaben, with her assets marked "not known".