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Bharatiya Janata Party | |
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Chairperson | Nitin Gadkari |
Parliamentary Chairperson | Nitin Gadkari |
Leader in Lok Sabha | Sushma Swaraj (Leader of Opposition) |
Leader in Rajya Sabha | Arun Jaitley (Leader of Opposition) |
Founded | 6th April 1980 |
Preceded by | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
Headquarters | 11 Ashoka Road, New Delhi, 110001 |
Newspaper | Kamal Sandesh |
Youth wing | Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha |
Women's wing | BJP Mahila Morcha |
Peasant's wing | Bharatiya Kisan Sangh |
Ideology | Indian Nationalism Integral humanism Economic liberalism Gandhian Socialism Conservatism Social conservatism |
Political position | Centre-right and Cultural Nationalism[1] |
International affiliation | None |
Official colours | Saffron |
ECI Status | National Party |
Alliance | National Democratic Alliance (NDA) |
Seats in Lok Sabha |
114 / 545
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Seats in Rajya Sabha |
49 / 245
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Election symbol | |
150px | |
Website | |
www.bjp.org | |
Politics of India Political parties Elections |
This article is part of a series about Bharatiya Janata Party |
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Bharatiya Jana Sangh · History of the BJP · Organisation of the BJP · Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha · Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh · Bharatiya Kisan Sangh · BJP Mahila Morcha · BJP Minority Morcha · List of MP in the 14th Lok Sabha |
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP pronunciation (help·info); translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament and in the various state assemblies. The Bharatiya Janata Party was started by advocating Hindu nationalism and conservative social policies, self-reliance, free market capitalistic policy, foreign policy driven by a nationalist agenda, and strong national defense.[2]. The party's platform is generally considered right of center in the Indian political spectrum.[1]
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The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded by Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951 to espouse the nationalist cause. The party opposed the appeasement policy of the Indian National Congress and was against any compromise in the matters of national integrity, unity and cultural identity. It was widely regared as the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. After Mookerjee's untimely death in prison in 1953 during an agitation demanding the effective integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India, the entire burden of nurturing the orphaned organisation and building it up as a nation-wide movement fell on the young shoulders of Deendayal Upadhyaya. For 15 years, he remained the outfit's general secretary and built it up. He raised a band of dedicated workers imbued with idealism and provided the entire ideological framework of the outfit, but never seriously challenged the power of Indian National Congress[citation needed]. He did however groom future political leaders like Vajpayee, Advani and others. However, the vast majority of the party workers including Upadhyaya himself were derived from the RSS and brought with them the patriotic fervour and discipline of the parent organisation[3]
The Jana Sangh won just three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952. However, it gradually increased its strength and by 1962 had become one of the most effective opposition parties in India and seriously challenged the power of the Congress in various north Indian states. Uniform Civil code for all Indians, Ban on Cow slaughter, Scrapping of the special statues accorded to J&K, Promotion of Hindi were some of the major ideological issues taken up by the party.
After 1967, The party entered into coalition with like minded political parties and formed governments in various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and others. The party was in the forefront during the agitation against the emergency (1975–77) imposed by the Indira Gandhi regime and thousands of its leaders and workers were imprisoned across India. The party along with many other political parties merged with the Janata Party in 1977 to present an united opposition to the Congress. The Janata Party won with a huge majority in 1977 and formed the government with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had become the leader of the Jana Sangh after Upadhyaya's death in 1967 was appointed as the external affairs minister in the new government. The Janata government did not last long. Morarji Desai resigned as Prime Minister, and the Janata party was dissolved soon after. The BJS had devoted political organization to sustain the coalition and was left exhausted by the internecine wars within the Janata Party.
In 1980 the leaders and workers who were associated with the former Jana Sangh, founded the Bharatiya Janata Party with Vajpayee as its first President. The BJP was a strong critic of the Congress government, and while it opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Indira Gandhi for divisive and corrupt politics that fostered the militancy at national expense. Sikh Leader Darasingh opines that Vajpayee thus "brought in Hindu-Sikh harmony."[4]
However, the BJP never supported Operation Bluestar, the BJP strongly protested the violence against Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984 following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by one of her Sikh bodyguards. The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; the party, however, had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began expanding its organization to attract young Indians throughout the country. During this period, Vajpayee remained center-stage as party President and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, but increasingly hard-line Hindu nationalists began to rise within the party and define its politics.
The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and was seeking to build a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in place of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindus believed the site was the birthplace of the Lord, and there existed a temple long before Babri mosque was built after demolishing the temple, and thus qualified as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism, where a temple should be reconstructed. The party under its president Lal Krishna Advani galvanised the nation with various rath yatras and succeeded in awakening the Hindu identity.
On 6th December, 1992, hundreds of VHP and BJP activists broke down an organized protest into a frenzied attack, and razed the mosque. Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in various parts of the country, killing over 1000 people. The VHP was banned by the government, and many BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani were arrested briefly for provoking the destruction. Although widely condemned by many across the country for playing politics with sensitive issues, the BJP won the support of millions of conservative Hindus, as well as national prominence.
With victory in assembly elections of Delhi in 1993 and Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994 propelled the BJP to the centerstage. During the BJP session at Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President L.K.Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won the next parliamentary elections scheduled for May 1996. In that election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and Vajpayee became Prime minister. He, however had to resign within 13 days as the BJP was unable to muster the required majority.
In the Lok Sabha elections held in 1998 the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) obtained a simple majority. This time, the BJP (NDA) had allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal besides its existing allies, the Samata Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Outside support was provided by the Telugu Desam Party. The NDA had a slim majority, and Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister after the 13-day stint in 1996.[5] But the coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, Jayalalitha, withdrew her support, and fresh elections were again held.
On 13 October 1999, the BJP-led NDA riding on a wave of popularity following victory in the Kargil war and the charisma of Vajpayee, won 303 seats. The BJP alone had its highest ever tally of 183. Vajpayee became Prime Minister for the third time, and Advani became the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. This NDA Government lasted its full term of five years. Vajpayee and his economic team, led by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, continuing the policies initiated by the previous Congress Government under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, pushed through major privatizations of big government corporations, the liberalization of trade under World Trade Organization guidelines, airline deregulation, foreign investment and ownership and allowed private companies such as Mahindra World City and Reliance to build Special Economic Zones where property developers could build new cities with world-class infrastructure for factories that export products.
The BJP and the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat in the general elections in 2004, and failed to muster a parliamentary majority. Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party and United Progressive Alliance succeeded Vajpayee as Prime Minister.
In May 2008, the BJP won the state elections in Karnataka. This was the first time that the party had won in any south Indian state. In the 2009 general elections, BJP again faced defeat and its strength in Lok Sabha reduced to 116 seats. The unexpected defeat of BJP is attributed to bad performance of the party in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.
The highest authority in the party is the President. Officially, the BJP constitution provides for a three-year term for the President. Recently, both Venkaiah Naidu and LK Advani resigned ahead of schedule due to factionalism and controversies. Rajnath Singh held this post from 2006 to 2009, he was succeeded by Nitin Gadkari. Beyond this, there are several Vice-Presidents, General-Secretaries, Treasurers and Secretaries. The National Executive consists of an undetermined number of senior party leaders from across the nation who are the highest decision-making body in the party. At the state level, a similar structure is in place, with every state unit being led by the respective President, who also officially serves a three-year term.[6]
The rank-and-file leadership of BJP largely derives from the cadre of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has millions of affiliates. It also maintains close links to other Sangh Parivar organisations, such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (an organisation promoting economic protectionism).
Other organizations directly affiliated to the RSS include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad which is the students' wing of the RSS, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the peasants' union and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is the labour union.
BJP also maintains the BJP Mahila Morcha,which is its women's front, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, which is its youth wing, the BJP Minority Morcha, which is its Minority front and many other frontal organisations.
Atal Behari Vajpayee considers the European concept of "secularism" inappropriate for Indian culture, and places it in opposition to Mohandas Gandhi's doctrine of Sarva Dharma Sambhava, which he considers India's own, traditional form of secularism.[8] He describes the Indian secular as follows:
The concept of Integral Humanism has a special place in its ideology, the BJP's right-wing politics include modern, conservatism, social conservatism, progressivism and enlightened nation which draws inspiration from India's ancient Indian culture and values. The BJP emphasize the role of free markets and individual achievement as the primary factors behind economic prosperity. To this end, they favor laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism, and the promotion of personal responsibility over welfare programs.[1] As per the party's constitution the objectives of the party are explained thus:
"The party is pledged to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation, which is modern, progressive and enlightened in outlook and which proudly draws inspiration from India's ancient culture and values and thus is able to emerge as a great world power playing an effective role in the community of Nations for the establishment of world peace and a just international order. The Party aims at establishing a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed or sex, political, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression. The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India."
The BJP stands for strong national defence, small government[citation needed], and Quasi-market economic policies, but Integral Humanism has been its core philosophy and identity ever since its inception. The BJP stand on economic policies saw a sudden volte face in the mid nineties from a support of swadeshi products to the embracing of free market ideas. Another important factor is the ongoing territorial dispute over Jammu and Kashmir and the wars of 1947–48, 1962, 1965, and 1971, and recently the 1999 Kargil War. The party strongly advocates the view that Kashmir should remain an integral part of the country.[10]
Economic policy under BJP-led governments at the state and center has been heavily focused on infrastructure building and pro-reform, which is congenial to Indian interests and to necessary conforming to international regulations (like environment laws) market-oriented economic growth without making subtle changes to the existing policies.
BJP is currently in power in six states (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Goa) where the party enjoys a majority of its own. In four other states — Punjab, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Bihar — it shares power with other political parties of NDA coalition. The party was in the co-government with BJD in Orissa .BJP has earlier ruled Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and till recently Uttarakhand.
In March 1998, when BJP began its rule at the center attacks against Christians throughout India had increased significantly including the killings of priests, the raping of nuns, and the physical destruction of Christian institutions, schools, churches, colleges, and cemeteries.[11]
In 2001 then BJP President Bangaru Laxman accepted bribe of 100,000 (US$1,995)[12] for his favourable recommendation to the Defence Ministry[13] for supply of hand-held thermal imagers for the Indian Army[14], from Tehelka journalists, who, posing as arms dealers, filmed him in a fake arms deal operation. On April 2012, he was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment.[15]
In 2002, communal religious riots took place in Gujarat under BJP rule between Hindus and Muslims. The National Human Rights Commission criticized the government, pointing to "a comprehensive failure on the part of the State Government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights. A judicial commission headed by G.T. Nanavati, a former chief justice of the Indian Supreme Court, constituted to examine allegations of Gujarat state administration's involvement in the riots of 2002 said that there was no evidence to implicate either Modi or his administration in the riots.
In a 2005 book former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Director Maloy Krishna Dhar claimed that Babri Masjid demolition was planned 10 months in advance by top leaders of RSS, BJP and VHP and raised questions over the way the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, had handled the issue. Dhar claimed that he was directed to arrange the coverage of a key meeting of the BJP/Sangh Parivar and that the meeting "proved beyond doubt that they (RSS, BJP, VHP) had drawn up the blueprint of the Hindutva assault in the coming months and choreographed the ‘pralaya nritya’ (dance of destruction) at Ayodhya in December 1992... The RSS, BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal leaders present in the meeting amply agreed to work in a well-orchestrated manner." Claiming that the tapes of the meeting were personally handed over by him to his boss, he asserts that he has no doubts that his boss had shared the contents with the Prime Minister (Rao) and the Home Minister (S B Chavan). The author claimed that there was silent agreement that Ayodhya offered "a unique opportunity to take the Hindutva wave to the peak for deriving political benefit."[16]
A 2009 report, authored by Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, blamed 68 people for the demolition of the mosque – mostly leaders from the BJP and a few bureaucrats. Among those named in the report were AB Vajpayee, the former BJP prime minister, and LK Advani, the party's then (2009) leader in parliament. Kalyan Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during the mosque’s demolition, has also come in for harsh criticism in the report. He is accused of posting bureaucrats and police officers who would stay silent during the mosque’s demolition in Ayodhya.[17] Former Education Minister in NDA Government Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi have also been found culpable in the demolition in the Liberhan Commissions' Report. Anju Gupta, an Indian police officer appeared as a prosecution witness. She was in charge of Advani's security on the day of the demolition and she revealed that Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi made inflammatory speeches.[18]
Year | Name | Rationale | |
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1980–1986 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||
1986–1991 | Lal Krishna Advani | First Term | |
1991–1993 | Murli Manohar Joshi | ||
1993–1998 | Lal Krishna Advani | Second Term | |
1998–2000 | Kushabhau Thakre | ||
2000–2001 | Bangaru Laxman | ||
2001–2002 | Jana Krishnamurthi | ||
2002–2004 | Venkaiah Naidu | ||
2004–2006 | Lal Krishna Advani | Third Term | |
2006–2009 | Rajnath Singh | First Term (He was re-elected for second term in Dec 2006) | |
2009– | Nitin Gadkari |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bharatiya Janata Party |
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Sushma Swaraj | |
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Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha) | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 18 December 2009 |
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Preceded by | Lal Krishna Advani |
Constituency | Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh) |
Minister of Information and Broadcasting | |
In office 30 September 2000 – 29 January 2003 |
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Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Chief Minister of Delhi | |
In office 13 October 1998 – 3 December 1998 |
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Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications | |
In office 19 March 1998 – 12 October 1998 |
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Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Minister of Information and Broadcasting | |
In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996 |
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Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
Haryana State Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies | |
In office 1987–1990 |
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Haryana State Minister of Labour and Employment | |
In office 1977–1979 |
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Personal details | |
Born | Palwal, Haryana |
14 February 1952
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Spouse(s) | Swaraj Kaushal |
Residence | New Delhi |
Alma mater | Punjab University, Chandigarh |
Profession | Lawyer |
Military service | |
Awards | Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2004 and 2010 |
Sushma Swaraj (Hindi: सुष्मा स्वराज pronunciation (help·info)) (born 14 February 1952) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Member of Parliament. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She is a former union cabinet minister of India and a former Chief Minister of Delhi. Also she served as the Chairperson of the BJP's 19 member campaign committee for the 2009 General Elections. She was the first female Chief Minister of Delhi.
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She was born in Palwal, Haryana. She was educated at Sanatan Dharma College, Ambala Cantonment and earned a B.A. degree. She studied LL.B. from the Law Department of Punjab University, Chandigarh. She is an advocate by profession.[1]
She has been associated with many social and cultural bodies in various capacities. She was President of the Sahitya Sammelan, Haryana for four years.
Sushma Swaraj began her political career as a student leader in the 1970s, organizing protests against Indira Gandhi's government. She was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977–82 and then from 1987–90. As a Janata Party MLA in Devi Lal's government, she was the Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment (1977–1979). She joined the BJP in 1980. Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987–1990). She was judged Best Speaker of Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years.
In 1980, 1984, and 1989, she unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal in Haryana. All three times, she was defeated by the Congress Party's Chiranji Lal Sharma.
She was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990. In 1996, she was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi. She was Union Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1996, during the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.
She was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha for a 2nd term in 1998. Under the second Vajpayee government, she retained the Information and Broadcasting ministry and had additional charge of the Ministry of Telecommunications from 19 March to 12 October 1998.
She left the Union Cabinet from October – December 1998 to serve as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. The BJP lost the assembly elections, and she returned to national politics.
In 1999, she took on a high profile as she contested against the Congress party's President, Sonia Gandhi, from the Bellary constituency in Karnatka, which had returned Congress winners since India's independence. The fervent, high-pitched campaign came to an end with the expected loss of Sushma.
She returned to Parliament in April 2000 as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand.[2] She was re-inducted into the cabinet as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000 until January 2003. At that time, she was made the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. She held these posts from January 2003 until May 2004, when the National Democratic Alliance government lost elections.
In a heavily publicized and emotionally charged episode following the elections, Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head, don a white saree and eat groundnuts (symbolically mourning) if Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born Congress leader, became Prime Minister of India.
She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2006 from Madhya Pradesh. She served as the deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha. Speculation ran high that Sushma Swaraj was one of the top contenders to be President of the BJP, following Advani's resignation from that role in late 2005. Rajnath Singh ultimately was elected to that post.
She won the 2009 election to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, on a BJP candidacy, by a highest margin of 4.01 lakh votes. This is her 10th election.
She has been awarded by Outstanding Parliamentarian Award twice.
Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009 in the 15th Lok Sabha,[3]
She married Swaraj Kaushal Madahar on 13 July 1975 and has a daughter.
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Sahib Singh Verma |
Chief Minister of the Delhi 1998 |
Succeeded by Sheila Dikshit |
Nitish Kumar | |
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Chief Minister of Bihar | |
In office 3 March 2000 – 10 March 2000 |
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Deputy CM | Sushil Kumar Modi |
Preceded by | President's rule |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 24 November 2005 |
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Preceded by | Rabri Devi |
Minister of Railways | |
In office 20 March 2001 – 21 May 2004 |
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Preceded by | Ram Vilas Paswan |
Succeeded by | Lalu Prasad Yadav |
In office 19 March 1998 – 5 August 1999 |
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Minister of Agriculture | |
In office 27 May 2000 – 21 July 2001 |
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In office 22 November 1999 – 3 March 2000 |
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Minister of Surface Transport | |
In office 13 October 1999 – 22 November 1999 |
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In office 14 April 1998 – 5 August 1999 |
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Personal details | |
Born | kalyanbigha, Nalanda |
1 March 1951
Nationality | Indian |
Political party | Janata Dal (United) |
Spouse(s) | Late Smt. Manju Kumari Sinha |
Children | Nishant Kumar (son) |
Residence | 1 Anne Marg, Patna |
Alma mater | National Institute of Technology, Patna |
Profession | Politician Social Worker Agriculturist Engineer |
Religion | Hinduism |
Website | http://cm.bih.nic.in |
As of 18 June, 2006 Source: Government of India |
Nitish Kumār (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been a Union Minister and is the Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India, since 2005. He belongs to the Janata Dal (United) party. As Chief Minister, he gained popularity by initiating a series of developmental and constructive activities including building of long-delayed bridges, re-laying roads that had ceased to exist, appointing over 100,000 school teachers, ensuring that doctors worked in primary health centers, and keeping crime in check.[1]
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Nitish Kumār was born in Kalyanbigha, Bihar to Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh and Parmeshwari Devi.[2] His father was a freedom fighter and was close to the great Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the founders of modern Bihar. His nickname is 'Munna'.[3] He is a teetotaler, does not smoke, and is a frugal eater.[4]
He has a degree in electrical engineering from the Bihar College of Engineering, Patna now NIT Patna.[5] He joined the Bihar State Electricity Board, but almost halfheartedly, and later moved into politics.[6]
Nitish Kumar belongs to a socialist class of politicians.He learnt the lessons of politics under the tutelage of stalwarts Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Karpoori Thakur, S N Sinha, George Fernandes and V. P. Singh.[7]
Nitish Kumar participated in Jayaprakash Narayan's movement[8] between 1974 and 1977, and was close to Satyendra Narayan Sinha, a prominent leader of the time. In the 1980 Bihar assembly elections, Kumar stood from Harnaut, which had a strong presence of his fellow Kurmis. He lost, however, to a Kurmi ‘bahubali’ (muscleman/criminal politician).[9] He was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1985 as an independent candidate. In 1987, he became the President of the Yuva Lok Dal. In 1989, he became the Secretary-General of the Janata Dal in Bihar. He was also elected to the 9th Lok Sabha the same year. Nitish was aligned with Laloo Prasad Yadav for years before they parted ways and Janata Dal (United) came into existence in 2003.[10][11]
During his term as Minister of Railways, he brought widespread reforms.[12]
This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011) |
In 1989, Nitish Kumar was appointed as the Union Minister of State for Agriculture in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh. In 1991, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha and became General Secretary of the Janata Dal at the national level and the Deputy Leader of Janata Dal in the Parliament. He represented Barh parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha between 1989 and 2004.
He briefly served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Railways and Minister for Surface Transport and then as the Minister for Agriculture in 1998–99. In August 1999, he resigned following the Gaisal train disaster. He introduced internet ticket booking facility as well as opened record number of railway ticket booking counters. He introduced revolutionary tatkal scheme for instant booking.
Later that year, he rejoined the Union Cabinet as Minister for Agriculture. From 2001 to May 2004, he served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Railways in the NDA Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections he contested elections from two constituencies, Barh and Nalanda. He was elected from Nalanda but lost from his traditional constituency, Barh. He was the leader of the Janata Dal (United) Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha.
On 3 March 2000, Nitish Kumar was appointed the Chief Minister of Bihar, but he resigned seven days later because failed to prove majority.
In November 2005, he led the National Democratic Alliance to victory in the 2005 Bihar assembly elections bringing an end to the 15-year rule of the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 24 November 2005. Under his government, Bihar developed an electronic version of the Right to Information Act called Jankari scheme. In addition, he launched the E-shakti NREGS program, by which rural people can get employment information by telephone. He is credited with improving infrastructure, and reducing crime, widely felt to be serious problems in the state.
Under his governance Bihar has had a record number of criminal prosecutions through fast track courts. His government initiated a mandatory weekly meeting with all District Magistrates to monitor progress at the grassroot level. His government has generated employment in police services and teaching. Bihar recorded record construction work during his five year mandate, surpassing the national average.
Nitish Kumar government also initiated bicycle and meal programs – the government gave bicycles to girls who stayed in school – which saw Bihar getting huge number of girls into schools and fall in school drop out rates.[13] Women and extremely backward castes were given 50% reservation in electorals for the first time ever in India. However, bicycle scheme of Nitish Government has been criticised by some people because of corruption involved in the scheme.
Health schemes were launched to improve village hospitals and the free medicine distribution system. Loan schemes for farmers were improved by involving national banks.
The state witnessed steep hike in GSDP growth, the second highest in the country. Bihar was recorded as the highest tax payer state in eastern India.
Dr. Abdul Kalam, former President of India and Nitish Kumar initiated the Nalanda International University project, headed by the Prime Minister of India.
In 2010, Nitish Kumar's party swept back to power along with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party. On 26 November 2010, Nitish Kumar took oath as a Chief Minister of Bihar. This is his second consecutive term as Chief Minister of Bihar.[6]
In a keenly fought contest, Nitish Kumar led JDU-BJP combine won with four-fifth majority. NDA won 206 seats while RJD won 22 seats. No party there has won enough seats to represent the opposition in the state assembly, which requires at least 25 seats to become eligible to represent the main opposition party.[14][15]
For the last time electorates witnessed high turnout of women and young voters, while this declared as the fairest Bihari election, with no bloodshed or poll violence.[16]
On 22 February 1973, Nitish Kumar married Manju Kumari Sinha, a teacher by profession. They have a son, Nishant, who is a graduate of BIT, Mesra.[17] His wife died in 2007 at the age of 53. He is credited with giving a new face to Bihar. The kind of win his Alliance registered during 2010 Bihar Assembly is viewed amongst the biggest ever election win by anyone in Indian elections, where the entire opposition was almost wiped off. Many sections of media and political sections consider him as the best Chief Minister from India, able to bring success of governance in a state of turmoil, finishing caste, religion barrier and paving way for development. For his clean and Statesmanship he owns respect from his bitter opponents and all political parties including Congress whose many prominent leaders including chief Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, NCP leader Agatha Sangma and Congress leader(Minister for information and broadcasting) Ambika Soni, credited Nitish Kumar's clean, pro-citizen development oriented governance. It is a status which currently only Nitish Kumar enjoys, something a rare feat in Indian politics where someone achieves respect and appreciation from opposition along with landslide public support from all sections of Society.
Period | Positions | Note |
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1977 | Contested first assembly elections on a Janata Party ticket. | |
1985–89 | Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly. | First term in Legislative Assembly |
1986–87 | Member, Committee on Petitions, Bihar Legislative Assembly. | |
1987–88 | President, Yuva Lok Dal, Bihar. | |
1987–89 | Member, Committee on Public Undertakings, Bihar Legislative Assembly. | |
1989 | Secretary-General, Janata Dal, Bihar. | |
1989 | Elected to 9th Lok Sabha. | First term in Lok Sabha |
1989-16 July 1990 | Member, House Committee. | Resigned |
4/1990-11/1990 | Union Minister of State, Agriculture and Co-operation. | |
1991 | Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha. | 2nd term in Lok Sabha |
1991–93 | General-Secretary, Janata Dal. Deputy Leader of Janata Dal in Parliament. |
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17/12/91-10/5/96 | Member, Railway Convention Committee. | |
8/4/93-10/5/96 | Chairman, Committee on Agriculture. | |
1996 | Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha. Member, Committee on Estimates. Member, General Purposes Committee. Member, Joint Committee on the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment Bill, 1996). |
3rd term in Lok Sabha |
1996–98 | Member, Committee on Defence. | |
1998 | Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha. | 4th term in Lok Sabha |
19/3/98-5/8/99 | Union Cabinet Minister, Railways. | |
14/4/98-5/8/99 | Union Cabinet Minister, Surface Transport (additional charge). | |
1999 | Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha. | 5th term in Lok Sabha |
13/10/99-22 November 1999 | Union Cabinet Minister, Surface Transport. | |
22/11/99-3 March 2000 | Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture. | |
3/3/00-10/3/00 | Chief Minister, Bihar. | as 29th Chief Minister of Bihar, only for 7 days |
27/5/00-20 March 2001 | Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture. | |
20/3/01-21 July 2001 | Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture with additional charge of Railways. | |
22/7/01-21 May 2004 | Union Cabinet Minister, Railways | |
2004 | Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha. Member, Committee on Coal & Steel. Member, General Purposes Committee. Member, Committee of Privileges. Leader Janata Dal (U) Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha. |
6th term in Lok Sabha |
From 24 November 2005 – 24 November 2010 | Chief Minister, Bihar. | as 31st Chief Minister of Bihar, |
From 26 November 2010 – Till Date | Chief Minister, Bihar. | as 32nd Chief Minister of Bihar |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nitish Kumar |
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Narendra Modi નરેન્દ્ર મોદી |
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Chief Minister of Gujarat | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 7 October 2001 |
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Governor | Dr. Kamla Beniwal |
Preceded by | Keshubhai Patel |
Constituency | Maninagar |
Personal details | |
Born | Vadnagar, Gujarat, India |
17 September 1950
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Residence | Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India |
Alma mater | Gujarat University[1] |
Religion | Hinduism |
Website | Narendra Modi |
As of 9 March, 2009 Source: Government of Gujarat |
Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950[1]) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben.[2] He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.
He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat.[3] In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.[4] He was elected again for a third term[5] on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".[6][7]
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Modi was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State, India.[8] During the Indo-Pak war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations.[9] As a young man, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation and was involved in the anti-corruption Nav Nirmāṇ ("Reconstruction") Movement. After working as a full time organiser for the organisation, he was later nominated as its representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party.[10] As a teenager Modi used to run a tea stall with his brother.[11] Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in political science from Gujarat University.[12]
Modi was a pracharak (campaigner) in the RSS during his university years.[12][13] He took up the challenging task of energising the party cadres in right earnest. In partnership with Shankersinh Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base in Gujarat. In the initial period, Vaghela was seen as a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a master strategist.
The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. During this period, Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organising two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a political rally through India on a converted Toyota van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister while Narendra Modi was sent to New Delhi as a General Secretary of the Party.
In 1995, Modi was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India. In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001. In 2001, Narendra Modi was chosen by the party to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat after the removal of chief minister Keshubhai Patel.
Modi is known for leading a frugal lifestyle. He has a personal staff of just three. He is known to be a workaholic Chief Minister and an introvert.[14] He ordered the demolition of many Hindu temples that were built without proper government sanction which earned him the ire of VHP[11] He is a crowd puller as a speaker. Modi has also tried to turn his image from an Hindu Nationalist politician to an image of able administrator. He wears business suits and is improving his command over the English language.[15]
Modi was awarded Gujarat Ratna by Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on celebration of centenary year.[16]
As a Chief Minister, Modi started various 'yojanas' or plans. This includes:
Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial Global Investors' Summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of Gujarat. the event has been held continuously since 2003.
The biggest challenge which he had to face when he took over as the Chief Minister, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001.
On 27 February 2002, a train was burned by a Muslim mob in the town of Godhra leading to 59 deaths, most of them Hindu pilgrims and activists returning from the holy city of Ayodhya.[21] Riots broke out in the state after it was suspected to be caused by Muslims, leading to 1180 deaths, many of them Muslims. Modi administration was accused of inaction over the riots and for encouraging them.[15] As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation.[22][23] Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.[24][25] In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.
In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India appointed a special team of investigators to look into the role Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim conspiracy.[15] The team was appointed in response to the complaint of zakia Jafri, the widow of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered in the riots.[26] In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.[27]
However in February 2011, the Times of India reported that a confidential report from the SIT indicted Modi on several counts of alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.[28] Most other sources have noted that the SIT report does not indict Modi for the riots due to lack of evidence.[29][30] The Indian Express too said the report did not find any Modi involvement in the violence, though it did accuse him of watering down the seriousness of the situation.[31] According to the Hindu, the report not only found that Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation, but Modi also implicitly justified the killings of Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on them.[32] The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded an investigation into the publication of the report, claiming the leak was politically motivated.[33]
The apex court refused to pass any order on the case and referred it to the Ahmedabad magistrate for a decision.[34] In April 2012, a Special Investigation Team found absolved Modi of any involvement in the Gulberg massacre, arguably the worst episode of the riots.[35]. On 7 May 2012, a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran observed that Modi can be prosecuted under sections 153 A (1) (a) & (b), 153 B (1), 166 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity among different groups during the 2002 Gujarat riots.[36]. However the amicus report has been criticised by the Special Investigation Team for relying heavily on the testimony of a perjurer[37].
Modi made a speech at Mangrol in which he justified the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, During the election campaign In response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death",[38] and referred to Sohrabuddin's killing. For this speech the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities.[39] Modi won the election and continued his post as the Chief Minister Of Gujarat, he won with majority of votes of 122 seats out of 182 total assembly seats.[40]
On 25 August 2011 Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal appointed Justice R A Mehta to the post of Lokyukta of Gujarat, a critical anti-corruption post that had been lying vacant since 2003. Justice R A Mehta was recommended for the post by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in June. Since Governor Beniwal had made this decision without consulting and getting the approval of the chief minister and his council of ministers, the action angered Narendra Modi and his BJP party.[41]
This marked the beginning of a strained relationship between Modi and the Governor. On 25 September 2011, Narendra Modi accused the Governor of running a parallel government in the state supported by the Congress. He demanded that she be recalled back.[42] He also later accused her of delaying the progress of bills by not passing them.
The decision of the governor in the appointment of R A Mehta was challenged in the high court by the Modi government. The two member high court bench gave a split verdict on 10 October 2011. Later, a third member upheld the governor's decision in January 2012.[43]
As the Chief Minister of the Gujarat State, to attract foreign investment in the state, Narendra Modi has made visits to foreign countries, including China and Singapore.
Narendra Modi made his first China visit in 2007 to invite investors Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit,[44] and second visit in November 2011. One month after the second visit to China, the Chinese Government released 13 Diamond traders from India jailed by the Shenzhen Customs, which the Chief Minister described as the consequece of his diplomatic efforts and statesmanship.[45]
In 2005 Narendra Modi was denied of diplomatic visa to the United States, in addition to this visa denial, he was also revoked from his already granted B-1/B-2 visa.[46]
In the late 2011-early 2012 Narandra Modi practised a series of fasts in the name of Sadbhavna Mission. The mission started on 17 September 2011 in Ahmedabad with 3 day fast with a view to strengthen the atmosphere of peace, unity and harmony in the state. He observed total 36 fasts in 26 districts, 8 cities including Ahmedabad.[47]
On 18 July 2006 Modi delivered a speech criticising Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" like the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the Centre to empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the blasts in Mumbai.[48] Quoting Modi:
“ | Terrorism is worse than a war. A terrorist has no rules. A terrorist decides when, how, where and whom to kill. India has lost more people in terror attacks than in its wars.[48] | ” |
Narendra Modi has frequently commented that if the BJP came to power at the Centre, they will honour the 2004 Supreme Court judgement to hang Afzal Guru.[49] Afzal was convicted of terrorism in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack in 2004 by the Supreme Court of India and is in Tihar Jail.[50]
On account of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, on Thursday 27 November, Narendra Modi held a meeting to discuss waterfront security along the coastline.[51] The meeting decided to ask the Central government to urgently sanction the following:
The 30 coastal boats, under construction at Goa's shipbuilding yard, will have the capacity to run at the speed of 25 nautical miles per hour. These are being manufactured under the Centre's Rs 58-crore grant for coastal security.[51]
In 2003, when Narendra Modi was asked about the conflict of his dreams for Gujarat's future with international criticism of his past activities, Modi said,[52]
“ | Yet, no one has asked this question to the USA after 9/11. Delhi is developing fast – no one has asked this question to Delhi after 1984. If it does not matter to Delhi and USA, why should it matter to Gujarat? | ” |
Modi's decision to link Gujarat's violence with the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US drew criticism from some observers, who contrasted it with the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's unpleasant apology for Gujarat in London a year ago.[52] Modi responded to this criticism by The Guardian,[52]
“ | I have not read and I would not like to read. But thank you for people spending time on me | ” |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Narendra Modi |
Preceded by Keshubhai S. Patel |
Chief Minister of Gujarat 6 October 2001 – present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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Rahul Gandhi | |
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Member of Lok Sabha from Amethi | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 2004 |
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General Secretary of the Indian National Congress | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 2007 |
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Chairperson of IYC and NSUI | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 2007 |
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Personal details | |
Born | New Delhi, India |
19 June 1970
Nationality | Indian |
Political party | Indian National Congress |
Relations | Rajiv Gandhi (father) Sonia Gandhi (mother) Priyanka Vadra (sister) |
Residence | New Delhi, India |
Alma mater | Rollins College Trinity College, Cambridge |
Profession | Member of Parliament |
As of 5 June, 2011 |
Rahul Gandhi ([ˈraːɦʊl ˈɡaːnd̪ʱiː]; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and member of the Parliament of India, representing the Amethi constituency.[1] Gandhi is the general-secretary of the Indian National Congress.[2] He is the grandson of Feroze Gandhi and Indira (née Nehru) Gandhi, and fourth-generation scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
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Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970 [3] as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi, who later became President of Indian National Congress, and as the grandson of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He is also the great-grandson of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister.[4]
Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School, Delhi[5] before entering The Doon School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), also his father's alma mater,[6] from 1981–83. Meanwhile, his father had joined politics and became the Prime Minister on October 31, 1984 when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Due to the security threats faced by Indira Gandhi's family from Sikh extremists, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka were home-schooled since then.[7] Rahul Gandhi joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations.[8] In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE[9] during an election rally, he shifted to Rollins College due to security concerns and completed his B.A. in 1994.[10] During this period, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies.[8][11] He further went on to obtain a M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1995.[12] After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London.[13] In 2002 he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.[14]
In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by announcing that he would contest the May 2004 elections, standing for his father's former constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament.[15] The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. The Congress had been doing poorly in Uttar Pradesh, holding only 10 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state at the time.[16] At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed. It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's political fortunes among India's youthful population[17] In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions.[15]
He won with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a margin of over 100,000 as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.[18] Until 2006 he held no other office.[19]
Gandhi and his sister, who is married to Robert Vadra, managed their mother's campaign for re-election to Rae Bareilly in 2006, which was won easily with a margin greater than 400,000 votes.[20]
He was a prominent figure in the Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections; Congress, however, won only 22 seats with 8.53% of votes.[21]
Rahul Gandhi was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat.[22] In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.[23]
In 2008, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily mentioned “Rahul-as-PM” idea when the PM of India Manmohan Singh was still abroad.[24]
In his attempt to prove himself as a youth leader in November 2008 he held interviews at his 12, Tughlak Lane residence in New Delhi to handpick at least 40 people who will make up the think-tank of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), an organisation that he has been keen to transform since he was appointed general secretary in September 2007.[25]
Under Rahul Gandhi, IYC and NSUI has seen a dramatic increase in members from a two lakhs to twenty five lakhs.[26]
In various reports it has been proved that Rahul Gandhi has failed in his promise to eliminate family, patronage, money from Youth Congress. It has been seen that an aspiring delegates need to pay a substantial sum as nomination fee. Hence, an aspiring office-bearer with deep pockets sponsors them thereby allowing money power to have a role in the elections.[27][28][29]
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. In these elections congress is said to have revived itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and the majority of the credit for this turnaround is given to Rahul Gandhi.[30] He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks.
Rahul Gandhi opines that the Lokpal should be made a constitutional body and it should be made accountable to the Parliament, just like the Election Commission. He also feels that Lokpal alone cannot root out corruption. This statement came out on 25 August 2011, on the 10th day of Anna Hazare's fast. This statement was considered as a delaying tactic by the opposition and Team Anna's members. It was consequently slammed by prominent opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.[31] The Parliamentary Standing Committee led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi tabled the Lok Bill report in the Rajya Sabha on 9 December 2011. Almost all points proposed by Team Anna were ignored while Rahul Gandhi's wish for Lokpal to be made into a constitutional body was implemented. Anna Hazare believes that Rahul Gandhi is responsible for the weak and ineffective bill proposed by the standing committee of parliament.[32]
On 11 May 2011 Rahul Gandhi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police at Bhatta Parsaul village after he turned out in support of agitating farmers demanding more compensation for their land being acquired for a highway project.[33] He was released after being held for about three hours and later returned to New Delhi. He was to be presented before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate on 12 May 2011.[34]
Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in the 2012 Assembly elections, especially in the highly politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the hope that his popularity would help bring Congress back to power. However, the party did very poorly in the elections winning only 38 seats, a meagre increase of six seats from the 2007 elections[35]. The Samajwadi Party and its new leader, Akhilesh Yadav swept the elections in UP, and Mr Yadav was sworn as the youngest Chief Minister of UP. The Congress party suffered humiliating defeats in other states (Goa and Punjab), and a close shave in Uttarahakhand. With only one win in the state of Manipur, the Indian press was quick to question the future of Mr Gandhi as the leader of the Congress party.[36]
Rahul Gandhi has been critical of nationalist groups like the RSS and compared them to terrorist organizations like SIMI.[37][38] According to a cable leaked by Wikileaks, in 2009, he allegedly shared concerns with the American ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that radicalized Hindu groups may pose a bigger threat to India than Islamic terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.[39][40] His comments on radical Hindu groups were criticized by the opposition party, as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[41]
It has been alleged that Rahul Gandhi had detained a girl and her parents since 2007 after the family accused the Gandhi scion of raping the girl. On 01st Mar 2011, the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi,[42] however the allegations were found to be false. Allahabad high court not only dismissed the case after the girl in question appeared in the court, but slapped a 50 lakh penalty against the petitioner ordering a CBI inquiry against her and websites publishing the story.[43]
On 14th Jul 2011, a day after the serial bombing in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi gave a statement that "it was very difficult to stop every single terror attack". The remark resulted in a number of strong criticism from a number of Shiv Sena party members.[44]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rahul Gandhi |
Lok Sabha | ||
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Preceded by Sonia Gandhi |
Member for Amethi 2004 – present |
Incumbent |