INDIA: Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi is crowned as the candidate for prime minister of India's main opposition party

Record ID: 1375112

  • Title: INDIA: Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi is crowned as the candidate for prime minister of India's main opposition party
  • Date: 13th September 2013
  • Summary: AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA (FILE - DECEMBER, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) NARENDRA MODI WAVING TO PEOPLE AT AN ELECTION RALLY VARIOUS PEOPLE WEARING MODI'S MASK BJP LEADERS RAISING THEIR HANDS TOGETHER ON A PODIUM PEOPLE WEARING MODI'S MASK AT THE RALLY
  • Embargoed: 28th September 2013 21:15
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7K8O3L9FRFNRXQSSJ2C6ML3PV
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi was crowned as the candidate for prime minister of India's main opposition party on Friday (September 13), cementing the remarkable rise of a leader adored by business but tainted by deadly religious riots that broke out on his watch.
    On a path from humble roots as the son of a tea-shop owner to running for leadership of the world's biggest democracy, Modi has methodically built a fervent fan base.
    But, a deeply polarising figure, he has made many enemies along the way, even within his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
    India is due to hold its largest-ever general election within eight months. Modi's elevation means the poll will pit the business-friendly chief minister of Gujarat state against the centre-left Congress party, which critics say looks jaded after a decade at the head of a fractious ruling coalition.
    Rajnath Singh, chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), declared Modi's candidature for the 2014 parliament polls despite objections from some senior leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani, following a meeting of parliamentary board, the party's highest decision making panel.
    "The parliamentary board of the BJP met today and decided that Narendra Modi will be our prime ministerial candidate for the coming Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament) elections," he said in New Delhi at a crowded news conference.
    Modi, anointed as candidate just days before his 63rd birthday is known for rousing speeches and biting attacks on the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that leads the Congress party. The government's final years have been tarnished by graft scandals and the poor performance of Asia's third-largest economy.
    Modi's main opponent may be Rahul Gandhi, an establishment insider who represents the fourth generation of a dynasty that has governed India for more than two-thirds of the 66 years since independence from Britain in 1947. Gandhi's late father, grandmother and great-grandfather were all prime ministers.
    An opinion poll published last week found that three-quarters of Indian business leaders believe the government of 80-year-old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has mismanaged the economy and they want Modi to lead the country.
    Modi's star appeal convinced the BJP to anoint him well ahead of the election.
    But his rise came only after a power struggle in the party. Other leaders' ambitions were crushed by Modi's sharp elbows, while others in the party worry that he is a divisive figure who will make it harder to form a coalition government.
    Opinion polls consistently rank Modi as the favourite potential candidate for prime minister, but the complexity of India's political equations and a first-past-the-post system mean victory is by no means assured.
    The party has little support in several important states and its Hindu nationalist philosophy is a turn-off for many Indians, especially among non-Hindu minorities - limiting Modi's appeal to potential allies who rely on those voters.
    And while the Congress and the BJP remain the country's two largest parties, the rise of regional political movements mean both will have to woo smaller parties to win the 272 seats needed to form a coalition government.
    Human rights groups and political rivals have long alleged that Modi allowed or even actively encouraged the 2002 attacks on Muslims in his state.
    Modi has always vehemently denied the accusation, and a Supreme Court inquiry found no evidence to prosecute him.
    Opponents still accuse the BJP of playing on religious tension to consolidate the Hindu vote, most recently after a spasm of religious violence in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh that killed at least 37 people.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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