Amit Shah, a man of substance, brought BJP in power Know the journey of BJP's Chanakya from 'jail to Home Minister'

Amit Shah Birthday: Today, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah is celebrating his 60th birthday. Though on this special occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Union Home Minister Amit Shah on his 60th birthday and wrote on the social media platform.

"Best wishes to Shri Amit Shah ji on his birthday. He is a hardworking leader who has dedicated his life to strengthening the BJP. He has made his mark as an exceptional administrator and is making many efforts to realize the dream of a developed India. I pray for his long and healthy life."

Born on 22 October 1964 in Gujarat, Amit Shah has played an important role in Indian politics. From the beginning of his career, he made a significant contribution to the development of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

From strengthening the party's organizational structure to taking charge of various important ministries, Amit Shah has showcased his abilities in political strategies and administration. Under his leadership, the BJP has achieved several electoral successes.

Amit Shah, who is called the 'Chanakya' of the BJP, is interested in playing chess, watching cricket and music. Shah has worked hard to fulfill the dream of bringing the BJP to power from 'Panchayat to Parliament'. After becoming the BJP president in July 2014, he toured the country and inspired party workers to work with dedication and hard work. Under his leadership, the BJP has won many elections with a bang, further strengthening the party's position.

Political journey of Home Minister

Amit Shah was born on October 22, 1964, in Mumbai to Gujarati's parents Kusumben and Anilchandra Shah. He completed his schooling in his native village Mansa, Gujarat and later moved to Ahmedabad with his family. Passionate about patriotism and studies since childhood, Amit Shah has been inspired by the biographies of great nationalists.

While at the age of 16, Shah started his political journey by joining the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In 1980, he joined the Sangh as a volunteer and also actively participated in the activities of the student organisation Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Due to his organizational skills and oratory, within two years he was made the joint secretary of the Gujarat unit of ABVP.

In 1987, Amit Shah started his political journey by joining the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). In 1997, he contested the election from Sarkhej assembly constituency in Gujarat and won by a huge margin. He went on to win this seat four times in a row, and his vote margin increased each time.

In November 1997, Shah also won the election from the Naranpura seat, where he won by a margin of 63,235 votes. While being an MLA, he raised thousands of crores of rupees for the development of his area.

At the age of 34, in 1998, he was made the secretary of the Gujarat unit of the BJP. The next year he was assigned the post of vice-president. In 2001, Amit Shah was appointed the national coordinator of the cooperative wing of the BJP, where seeing his efficiency, colleagues gave him the title of 'Pitamah of Cooperative Movement'.

After joining BJP, Amit Shah achieved many successes. His biggest achievement came in 2002 when he was made the Home Minister of Gujarat. Seeing his ability, he was appointed the national president of the party in 2014. Under his leadership, the BJP won a landslide victory in the elections and came back to power after 10 years. Amit Shah remained the party president for a long time, and later this responsibility was handed over to JP Nadda. When the BJP government was formed for the second time under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah was made the Home Minister of the country.

How Amit Shah went to jail

All though the period from 2010 to 2012 was, quite challenging for the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He had to go to jail in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case and had to stay out of Gujarat for two years.

This case dates back to 23 November 2005, when gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh was travelling from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad by bus with his wife Kausar Bi. At around 1:30 pm, the Gujarat Police Anti-Terror Squad stopped their bus in Sangli and took them off. Three days later, on 26 November, Sohrabuddin died of a gunshot wound, which the police termed as an encounter. After this, his associate Tulsi Prajapati was also killed in an encounter.

Sohrabuddin's family took the case to the Supreme Court, after which it was investigated by Gujarat CID and CBI. During the CBI investigation, Gujarat CID Inspector VL Solanki took the name of Amit Shah, and he was accused of getting Sohrabuddin killed in an encounter at the behest of marble traders.

In July 2010, Amit Shah surrendered and was sent to jail. He was charged with kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence. Three months later, in October 2010, he got bail, but the court put a condition that he should not come to Gujarat for two years. During this time, he stayed in Mumbai and Delhi.

In the 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections, he contested and won after taking permission from the court. After the formation of Narendra Modi government in 2014, all the accused in the Sohrabuddin encounter case were acquitted. On the order of the Supreme Court, the Mumbai CBI courtAll senior police officers and politicians including Amit Shah were acquitted before trial.

BJP's 'Chanakya'

Even though Amit Shah called the 'Chanakya' of BJP, and this is said because he is adept at understanding the organization and making strategies at the grassroots level. He proved this in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP won a spectacular victory and formed the government even in those states where it was not in power for a long time. Shah strengthened the position of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, even when there was no hope of the party forming a government, he still found success.

When Shah was questioned about being called Chanakya, he said that he can never claim to be Chanakya. However, he has read well about Chanakya, and he also has his picture in his room. Shah started his political career in 1991 by handling the election management of senior BJP leader LK Advani from Gandhinagar.

His management skills were on display in the 1995 by-election for the Sabarmati Assembly seat, when he managed the election campaign of advocate Yatin Ojha, who was contesting against the then Deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin. Yatin himself says that Shah sees nothing else other than politics.

Story of the friendship between PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah

However, Amit Shah comes from a Gujarati business family and has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood. He started attending Sangh shakhas from a young age. During his college days, he first met Narendra Modi in 1982, when Modi was a Sangh pracharak and was in charge of youth activities.

In 1983, Shah entered student politics and joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Four years later, in 1987, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM). At the same time, Narendra Modi also left the Sangh responsibilities and joined the BJP.

An interesting twist in the story of friendship between PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah comes in the year 1987, when Narendra Modi started making his political identity. At that time, municipal elections were being held in Ahmedabad, and Modi was the general secretary of BJP in Gujarat. This election was an important occasion for him, as it gave him a chance to work for the party.

During this time, Amit Shah was working as the secretary of Ahmedabad City. It is said that this was the time when Modi and Shah met for the first time. Both the leaders were engaged in election activities, and it was important to see whether the posters of the party candidates were put up at the right place or not.

This anecdote is famous in the media that Modi used to go to every street and corner and check the posters of BJP candidates. During that time Amit Shah was driving the scooter, while Modi used to sit behind.

Amit Shah was mind behind the removal of Article 370 in J&K

The story of Amit Shah's removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir begins in 2019, when the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government decided to abolish this constitutional provision. Article 370 gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, under which the state had its own constitution and a certain degree of autonomy.

Issue of removing Article 370 was an important election promise for the BJP. The party had long demanded the abolition of this provision, arguing that it was hampering the development of Jammu and Kashmir and was against national unity.

On August 5, 2019, Amit Shah, who was then the Union Home Minister, proposed the removal of Article 370 in Parliament. After discussion on the proposal, it was approved in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. With this, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

After the removal of Article 370, the central government started many development schemes in Jammu and Kashmir. Amit Shah called it an important step towards national unity and development. However, this decision was also opposed in some places and there were various reactions to it.