How Gujarat became synonymous with Modi

Modi’s embodiment of Gujarati asmita since his first shot at power in the state has dwarfed all else, forming two conflicting narratives, old and new, with the victories and tragedies that define them

- Rajdeep Sardesai

We built this Gujarat," roared Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi at an election W rally in his home state soon after the poll dates were announced. The PM's rather grandiose assertion, virtually taking credit for Gujarat's development, fits in with a familiar pattern. Over the last two decades, Modi has consciously projected himself as the CEO of Gujarat. Even the dramatic move from Gandhinagar to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the Capital, did not shake the unique bond that Modi cemented with 60 million-plus Gujaratis. And when elections in Gujarat are in the air, the PM relishes re-enacting the role by which he earned his political spurs: As the ultimate embodiment of Gujarati asmita (pride).

Since 2002, when Modi first stepped into the electoral arena as chief minister (CM), he has repeatedly invoked Gujarati self-respect as his calling card. Recall the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra of 2002 when Modi equated any criticism of his government's handling of communal riots to an orchestrated campaign by "outsiders" against the "people of Gujarat". In 2007, too, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slogan was Jitega Gujarat (Gujarat will win), a reference to what Modi said was the discriminatory attitude of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre. Or, the 2017 campaign, when the BJP countered the Congress's tagline, Vikas gando thayo chhe (development has gone mad), with its own: "Hu Chhu Gujarat, Hu Chhu Vikas!" (I am Gujarat, I am development).