3,00,000 km.
5,200 events.
10 million volunteers.
814 million voters.
282 seats.
The 2014 elections will be remembered
for a campaign that captured the public
imagination as never before. At its heart
was Narendra Modi, 63, the feisty chief
minister of Gujarat for thirteen years,
bidding to be prime minister. By the end
of the campaign, there was scarcely
anyone who had not--on television, radio,
social media or at one of his rallies--heard
his message. He too seemed to have grown
from a regional satrap to a leader with a
national stature. Long before the results
were out, the outcome seemed
a foregone conclusion.
Behind the ascent to prime minister,
though, is a story of tough politics
and hard strategy. In spite of his
achievements, minorities are wary of
his Hindu nationalist background, and
bureaucrats and party colleagues are
jittery about his reputation as an autocrat.
Most of all, he has never fully been able to
exorcize the ghosts of the riots that took
place on his watch in Gujarat in 2002,
leading to doubts among his critics about
how India's social fabric will fare during
his term.
As he gets down to write a fresh
chapter in the country's history, Modi
Demystified: The Making of a Prime
Minister takes a close-up look at his
rollercoaster ride to power. In the process,
senior journalist Ramesh Menon reveals a
man of many dimensions who will lead this
diverse nation.