Know your minister | India's 'Chanakya' Amit Shah goes from strategy to administration

The ‘Chanakya’ of Indian politics, responsible for scripting several of the BJP’s resounding electoral successes over the past few years, has decided to give up his role as a backroom operator and take up a role as a high-profile administrator.

After masterminding the BJP’s latest and most impressive win in the Lok Sabha elections as the party president, Shah was today appointed as the Home Minister in the Narendra Modi government 2.0.

Here’s everything you want to know about Amit Shah

Early life

Shah was born on October 22, 1964 in Mumbai to a well-to-do Gujarati Hindu Baniya family. His father, Anil Chandra Shah, was a businessman from Mansa, who owned a successful PVC pipe business.

Shah did his schooling in Mehsana and moved to Ahmedabad, graduating in bioschemistry, before starting to work for his father's business. He also worked as a stockbroker and in co-operative banks in Ahmedabad.

He was involved with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since his childhood, but formally became an RSS swayamsevak (volunteer) during his college days.

Political career

He started his political career as a leader of the student wing of the RSS, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, in 1983 and joined the BJP in 1987, one year before Narendra Modi joined the party. At that time, Modi was an RSS pracharak, working as in-charge of youth activities in the city. The two met at an RSS shakha in Naranpura, Ahmedabad.

The duo played an instrumental role in taking on the Congress in Gujarat, which was a dominant force in the state then, creating a support network of 8,000 rural leaders for the BJP.

After the BJP came to power in the state in 1995, Shah also made inroads into the state’s cooperative banks, which served as the lifeline for the state’s economy, reducing the Congress’ clout.

Shah successfully contested the 2002 assembly election and emerged as one of the most powerful leaders in the Narendra Modi administration in Gujarat.

What followed was a successful administrative career spanning several ministries. His ministerial tenure is remembered for a string of initiatives such as setup of modern forensic laboratories and strengthening of coastal policing.

National politics

After the BJP’s spectacular 2014 win, Shah took over as the BJP President. He continued his focus on streamlining and expanding the party’s worker base.

Immediately after taking over the charge of BJP national president, he embarked upon an ambitious project of making BJP the world’s largest party with more than 11 million members.

Over the past five years, under Shah, the BJP replaced the Congress as the country’s most dominant party, forming the government in over 20 states.

Working style

A strict vegetarian, a non-smoker and a teetotaler, he remembers both friends and adversaries, and knows most party workers by name.

Shah spends long hours in his office when he is in Delhi. He has taken up another ambitious project of building BJP offices in 640 districts of India.

He prefers to travel short distances by road instead of helicopter. During his recent visit to Odisha, he travelled close to 1,000 kms by road. He prefers to stay in guest houses, rather than in hotels, during poll campaigning.

Managing voters’ expectations is a fine art that requires nimble footedness in keeping the lines open with the PMO while drafting an electoral victory plot. Likewise with the RSS, the BJP’s ideological fountainhead. Shah has put in a strong coordination system between the BJP and the RSS to ensure that all efforts are united and anchored at the same place.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Shah doesn’t believe in creating a coterie; rather he uses every single person in the organization to his or her ability. It is no surprise, therefore, that several people perceived to enjoy his close physical proximity are actually the most disempowered, while some never seen around him often call the shots on most important matters.