In 2014, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and the prime ministerial candidate for India, Shri Narendrabhai Modi, galvanised a nation of more than a billion people to rise up and be counted. What followed in the general election was unprecedented in Indian history.
Hundreds of millions of people, from every state, every stratum in society and from all background rose up and went to the polls in huge numbers to elect their new Prime Minister – Shri Narendrabhai Modi. Every news channel that had spent months undermining this lion from Gujarat were left dumbfounded. The likes of Rajdeep Sardesai were left aghast. As news from every seat came in, you could see visibly the trauma on their faces. The Lutyen class and the Khan market appeasers were drowning in their own tears of desperation. Their counterparts in the west, the labour Party (UK) and the Democrats (USA), were left devastated. The anti-India forces knew their game was over. So much so that the heart broken Rajdeep Sardesai even wrote a book titled, ‘The Election that changed India’.
Eight years on and in his second term as the prime minister of the largest democracy in the world, PM Modi continues to make seismic changes to the very infrastructure of the nation as well as politics and governance. To list a few of his major achievements thus far:
Establishing India’s International neutrality (nation first position)
Abrogation of Article 370 (One nation one constitution)
Ram Mandir (reconciliation of historical atrocities)
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (celebrate the real freedom fighters)
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (80 million families given free rations during the Covid epidemic)
Develop Covid vaccine, vaccination for all and become a supplier to the world
Rescue Indians from Afghanistan and Ukraine
Surgical strikes on the enemies
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yogana (help with housing for the poor, 20 million have benefitted thus far)
Jan Dhan Yojana (450 million beneficiaries, more than Rs 1.67 lakh crore in deposits, and over 310 million RuPay cards issued. This has been an enabler in making India a world leader in digital payments)
Ayushman Bharat (healthcare cover for over 500 million people)
Ujala programme (Over 360m LED bulbs distributed cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 40 million tonnes annually)
Ujjwala Yojana (gas cylinders for women in rural India - over 90m gas connections)
Leading nation for FDI (expecting more than $200b) and expected to be a $45 Trillion economy by 2040)
Launching satellites now just a routine with western nations lining up to use the service
A major production hub for global companies
The most important change is the tectonic shift in the mindset of the average Indian. They have started to believe in themselves and their nation. There is pride in the nation. There is hope and a determination to progress and succeed. PM Modi has given the nation a massive adrenalin booster that has taken developments in almost every sector to new levels. As you travel through India, the whole landscape has changed. Massive infrastructure developments from roads, rail, bridges, airports, energy, water, sanitation to housing, hospitals, and schools. The list is endless.
This does not mean that PM Modi has finished. In my view this is just the start of what is needed for India. It needs such sustained focus for at least another 20 years. It’s time for India to become the defacto world leader that everyone comes to for approval.
16th May 2014 changed Bharat forever. Eight years on, the people of Bharat have changed forever. Now it’s their responsibility to make sure they give PM Modi and the BJP at least another two terms to cement in a glorious future. Jai Hind.
