Modi declares victory in India election but his party faces shock losses

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political rise in many ways mirrors India’s own path from a newly independent nation freed from the shackles of colonialism to a confident, secure country inching ever closer to superpower status — albeit one wracked by deep and abiding fault lines. 

Modi’s official party biography tells the story of a poor boy, the third of six children, whose father was a “chaiwallah” or tea seller, who’d serve customers at the local train station to support his young family.

Promoted by the BJP, analysts say this tale of humble beginnings makes him relatable to hundreds of millions across the country. And it stands in stark contrast to the generations of India’s elite, urban politicians who have historically risen to the top job.

Modi was still a child when he was exposed to the idea of Hindu nationalism through classes at the local branch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing paramilitary organization that advocates for the establishment of Hindu hegemony within India.

At 17, Modi abandoned his family and his wife, left his village and traversed India with the group in search of a spiritual awakening, according to his biography. He devoted himself to the RSS, never remarried and learned to “leave all the pleasures in life,” according to an interview he gave in 2019.

By 1972, he had become a “pracharak” for the RSS, according to his biography, someone appointed to spread their cause through meetings and public lectures.

Modi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1987, when the fringe political party started gaining traction fueled by the rise of Hindu nationalism in India.

One of the BJP’s founders Lal Krishna Advani saw a leader in Modi, giving him immense responsibilities within the party.

Modi thrived under Advani’s guidance, working his way through the ranks of the BJP. In 2001, he was appointed chief minister of the wealthy state of Gujarat.

Under Modi’s governance, the state introduced a wave of infrastructure, industry, and innovation to its arid landscape — making the “Gujarat model” synonymous with development and government efficiency.

Modi’s “Gujarat model” had become a blueprint for India and in 2014, the BJP won by a landslide, crushing the Congress — the party’s worst defeat in more than 100 years of its existence.

In 2019, he roared through polls yet again — this time on a more clearly defined ticket of Hindu supremacy.

Modi was once shunned by the United States. Denied a visa for “severe violations of religious freedom,” he was effectively banned from entering the country for nearly a decade.

But in the nine years since that ban was lifted, Modi has been progressively embraced by the White House — now more than ever.