Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah - Amit Shah : An Introduction

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah : An Introduction Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, the former President of the Bharatiya Janat...

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah : An Introduction

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, the former President of the Bharatiya Janata Party and India’s Home Minister, was born on 22 October 1964 to a Gujarati couple Mrs. Kusum Ben and Mr. Anilchandra Shah living in Mumbai. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah's grandfather was a wealthy merchant (Nagar Seth) in Mansa, a small princely state of Baroda State of Gaikwad. Till the age of 16, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah lived in his native village Mansa in Gujarat. It is there where he received his primary education. The young Shah’s early education took place according to the 'Indian Value Tradition' under the supervision of prominent scholars of the Gaikwad State. He was taught Indian scriptures, historical texts, grammar and epics in his childhood. He continued to study Indian philosophy and texts even in the later years.

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah's family moved to Ahmedabad after the completion of his primary education. His mother had a deep influence in his life. She was an avid Gandhian and she inspired him to wear Khadi. In his youth, while during education, he read biographies of many patriots and was deeply influenced by their passion for the motherland. He has been greatly influenced by the writings of K.M. Munshi.

Shah was only 13 years old when the 1977 general elections were held during the emergency period. Despite his young age, he actively participated in election campaign putting up poster-stickers for the election candidate Maniben Patel, the daughter of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. She was then contesting as a candidate nominated by Jana Sangh from Mehsana Lok Sabha seat.

 

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah's public life began early at the age of 16 in 1980 when he joined as a young Swayamsevak of the Sangh. In the mean-time he also was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi. In 1982, Shah was made joint secretary of the Gujarat unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He also worked for the BJP in 1984 as a polling agent for Sanghvi booth of Narayanpur ward. In the year 1987, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah joined the Yuva Morcha of the BJP.

 

Due to his studious nature, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was also associated with the Deendayal Research Institute in the eighties. He was with its state unit as the treasurer for eight years. During this period, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah got the opportunity to stay close to the great social reformer Nanaji Deshmukh and see his working style and learn from it.

In 1989, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah became BJP secretary of BJP’s Ahmedabad unit. During this period, the wind of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement was blowing across the country. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah fulfilled his responsibility given by the party in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement and later in the Ekta Yatra. Whenever Shri LK Advani and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee contested elections from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah handled the responsibility of their election management very well. He handled this responsibility of managing Advani's Lok Sabha elections till 2009.

In the nineties, the BJP began rising fast in Gujarat. Shri Narendra Modi held the designation of Organization Secretary of BJP in Gujarat. It was in the organizational work Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah came in touch with Shri Narendra Modi. Shah was associated with the party leadership in broadening and documenting the membership drive launched by the party in Gujarat.  

Given his background in business, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah already had a sound understanding of financial systems. He remained associated with his business till the initial days in politics. But later on, he had lesser time to spare for his business as he got more active in politics. When Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah became the chairman of Gujarat Pradesh Finance Corporation in the year 1995, he got an opportunity to apply his business acumen to improve the financial condition of the corporation. On account of his expertise, the corporation not only came out of the swamp of losses it was in, but also saw a spike in profits by 214 percent. It was during his tenure that lease purchase, working capital term loan and truck loan were introduced for the first time in the corporation.  

In 1997, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was made the National Treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Yuva Morcha. In the same year, in the Sarkhej assembly by-election, the party nominated him as its candidate and he became MLA for the first time winning by a margin of 25,000 votes. Since then, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah continued to win every assembly election till 2012 and the margin of his victory increased in each of them. When he contested the assembly elections for the fifth time from Naranpura, the margin of his victory was of 63235 votes, this despite the fact that the number of voters had reduced to one fourth of that in the earlier years. During his long tenure as an MLA, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah gave impetus to development works in the area from different sources apart from the MLA funds. In 1998, he became the state secretary of Gujarat BJP and within a year he was given the responsibility of the state vice-president.  

In 2000 at the age of 36, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah became the youngest chairman of the Ahmedabad District Co-operative Bank (ADCB). During his tenure of one year, the bank not only made good the loss of 20.28 crores it had incurred earlier but also earned a profit of Rs.6.60 crores and was able to distribute 10 percent dividend to its shareholders. A year later, in 2001, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was appointed as the convener of the National Co-operative Cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Shah was given an important responsibility by the party in the 'Gaurav-Yatra' organized for the first time in the 2002 assembly elections in Gujarat under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi. BJP won the Gujarat assembly elections and Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah became a minister in the government. He was a Minister of Important Departments in the Government of Gujarat till 2010. He was given the responsibility of departments like Home, Traffic, Prohibition, Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Excise. As the Home Minister, he took a number of important measures for police modernization, safety of roads and reduction in crime.  

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, who is interested in cricket and chess, took over as the chairman of the Chess Association in 2006 while being a minister. As an experiment he got chess included in the primary schools of Ahmedabad.' This experiment proved to be very useful in the development of mental abilities of children. Later on, as per the suggestion of the then Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi, it was included in the schools across the state. During this period, a national chess competition "National B" was held in Gujarat for the first time. Twenty thousand players participated in the competition and the event was registered as a world record in the Guinness Book of World Record. The competition also hosted 4 thousand female chess players and the event found place as a record in the Limca Book.

In 2009, he also got the opportunity to become the Vice-Chairman of the Gujarat Cricket Association under the chairmanship of Shri Narendra Modi. He was also the President of the Ahmedabad Central Board of Cricket Association. During this period, Gujarat earned immense fame in the field of cricket. After Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah became the President of the Gujarat Cricket Association.

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, being the Home Minister of Gujarat, had the responsibility of security. As a vigilant and alert administrator, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah considers weak and lumpy security to be a major obstacle in the development of society, country and state. As a minister in Gujarat, he continued to work seriously on security related issues. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was falsely accused of Sohrabuddin encounter while he was the Minister in Gujarat. He resigned. He also had to spend three

months in jail during the trial. Granting him bail, the Gujarat High Court observed that "there is no prima facie case against Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah.” Later in 2015, a special CBI court acquitted Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah of all charges with the remark that his case " was politically motivated.”

In 2012, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was re-elected as MLA from Naranpura. The BJP made him the National General Secretary of the party in 2013. In the 2014 elections, when the BJP made Shri Narendra Modi its prime ministerial candidate, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was sent as the in-charge of politically crucial state Uttar Pradesh. The country mandated in favor of Shri Narendra Modi and BJP got 73 seats from Uttar Pradesh and its vote share rose to 42%. It was a stupendous success for the party as well as testimony to Shah’s strategic acumen.

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was made the National President of BJP on 9 July 2014. His first term lasted till 2020. In his first term, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah strengthened the organizational base of the BJP in several states one after the other by making Narendra Modi's popularity a means of fortifying the organization. One of the first initiative Shah took was to run a historical membership drive, it was a huge success as the number of BJP members reached 11 crores in just five months. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah introduced several innovations as the President to run the party smoothly. Created departments and projects. Increased frequency of tours. Training programs for organising meetings began. He laid special emphasis on library and e-library in offices. Today libraries are running in many offices including the central office of BJP. Under his presidentship, the BJP-led government was formed for the first time in Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Haryana and Maharashtra. After this, the BJP once again elected him the national president in 2016. In 2016, he also became a trustee of the Somnath Temple Trust.

In the year 2017, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat. After becoming the National President of BJP, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah did an organizational tour to every state of the country to further the party's ideology and strategy. During this period, the BJP attained a number of important electoral successes.

By the time of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party's base had widened across the country. The base of popularity of Shri Narendra Modi had become stronger. When BJP went to the 2019 elections under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, it got a bigger mandate than in 2014. Shah is given credit for expanding BJP’s footprint in Odisha, West Bengal and Telengana in 2019 Loksabha election. Now BJP is main opposition party in all three states where it used to be a nominal player.

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, who was a representative of Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 1997 to 2017 as a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, contested the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar for the first time in 2019. He got a great victory from Gandhinagar. He won over his nearest rival by a margin of 5 lakh 57 thousand votes by securing 70 percent votes.

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah became the Home Minister in the Modi government that was re-elected in 2019. As Home Minister in Gujarat, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah used to constantly draw attention to the subjects which were obstructing the security and sovereignty of the country. Today, when he is the Home Minister of the country, he is becoming an important participant in the serious steps taken on those aspects under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi. During his tenure as the Home Minister, the Modi government at the Center has taken conciliatory decisions on many historical and decades-old issues related to making the country's internal security impenetrable. Abrogation of Article 370 and Citizenship Amendment Act are two important amongst several legislations brought by Home Minister Shah in initial few months of his tenure.  

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah considers security as an important factor in the progress of the country. The path of peace and progress has been opened in the Kashmir Valley due to a permanent solution to a decades-old problem like Article 370. This historic decision has demoralized and weakened the designs of separatism and terrorism in Kashmir. Grassroots democracy has been reinstated by holding peaceful panchayat elections and now Kashmir valley is experiencing fruits of development like rest of the India.

 

After becoming the Home Minister, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah also peacefully resolved the pending problems related to the borders of the northeastern states and internal security there. Vexed issues like Bru-Reang Pact, resolution of Assam-Meghalaya border dispute, resolution of Bodo problem are among few achievements worth mentioning. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah made a concrete strategy on the policy of zero tolerance against Left Wing Extremism. Today the Left Wing Extremism in India has been pushed to corners and is counting its days. The newly attained readiness of the internal security system to terrorism has resulted in the fact that terrorist activities have now been limited to sporadic incidences.

After becoming the Home Minister, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah prepared a complete blueprint to organize the new approach of disaster management according to the ten-point agenda set by Narendra Modi. His approach to disaster management covers all the crucial aspects related to dealing of calamities beginning from advanced planning to re-habilitation of affected people. Now people of India trusts National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and feel comfortable even in extreme calamities once they arrive. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, as the Home Minister, took several steps at the policy level to deal with the challenges of drug trade and drug consumption.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the Ministry of Cooperation on July 6, 2021, Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah was given its charge. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah's experience in the cooperative sector is wide and extensive. Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah is working through this ministry with the goal of preparing the cooperative movement for the challenges of the present times while eliminating instability, creating a transparent system and restoring the confidence of the smallest farmer in the cooperative sector. Shah believes that a robust cooperative moment can become growth engine of India and immensely contribute in country’s GDP.

Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah is fond of different types of foods, likes old film songs and movies & movies based on lives of great Indians. He also enjoys playing chess. Since 2006, he has never gone on a foreign trip. He is known for his disciplined working style. He has a special interest in the study of history and his spirituality. In overall hard work is his hallmark.

Life Journey of  Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah - AMITH SHAH

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1964 - Birth In Mumbai

Amit Shah was born to Gujarati parents Mrs. Kusumben and Mr. Anilchandra Shah on October 22, 1964 in Mumbai. He completed 16 years of his schooling in his ancestral village in Mansa, Gujarat and moved to Ahmedabad with his family, thereafter. A patriot and an avid reader since childhood, Shah was inspired by the biographies of the great nationalists and aspired to serve his Motherland and contribute to the country’s progress.

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1980 - Joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Inspired by its ideology Shah joined Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as a Swayamsevak (volunteer) at the age of 16 years...Inspired by its ideology Shah joined Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as a Swayamsevak (volunteer) at the age of 16 years in 1980. Shah also started participating in organizational activities of Sangh’s student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

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1982 - Joint Secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – Gujarat

Because of his ideological commitment, organisational and oratory prowess, Shah was elevated to the post of the Joint Secretary of the Gujarat unit of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) within two years of joining the organization.

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1987 - Joined the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)

Amit Shah started his politics journey in 1987 when he joined BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). He started playing an active role in various organizational programs of BJYM.

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1989 - Secretary, BJP, Ahmedabad City, Gujarat

Shah was given the first organizational assignment when he was made the secretary of the BJP Ahmedabad city in 1989. This marked a significant milestone in his political journey.

• Successful coordination and management of  the BJP’s campaign to mobilize masses during Ram Janambhoomi movement and Ekta Yatra.
• As the Chief Campaigner and Election Coordinator, he steered the campaign of senior BJP leader Mr. Lal Krishna Advani from Gandhinagar Loksabha constituency.
• Subsequently, he was also appointed as the Chief Campaigner and Election Strategist for the former Prime Minister Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he contested in Gandhinagar.

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1995 - President, Gujarat State Finance Corporation

In 1995, Shah was appointed as the Chairman of Gujarat State Finance Corporation (GSFC). His achievements included:

• For the first time in the history, GSFC’s net profit rose to 214%.
• GSFC was transformed into a Public Limited Company and its IPO was launched.
• For the first time under his chairmanship, innovative changes like the lease purchase method, working capital loan and truck loan were introduced to create maximum impact.

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1997 - National Treasurer- Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM)

Amit Shah was appointment National Treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 1997.

MLA, Sarkhej and Naranpura constituencies (Five terms from 1997 to 2017)

Amit Shah contested the assembly election from Gujarat's Sarkhej Legislative Assembly Constituency in 1997. He won by a huge margin and continued to do so in successive polls, increasing the winning margin every time. He continued to win this seat for four consecutive terms every time with a higher margin. He won the first election by a margin of 24,689 votes that rose more than 5 times to 132,477 votes in the next election. He won his third and fourth term with record margins 288,327(approx. 12 times) and 232,823 votes respectively.

After delimitation Shah's assembly constituency was Naranpura and, the number of voters in this constituency was only one-fourth of that in his previous assembly constituency. However, he still won the election by a huge margin of 63,235 votes. Despite being just an MLA with a meagre Rs.50 lakh as MLA grant, he mobilized thousands of crores from AUDA, The state government and other sources to ensure the development of his constituency.

‘People’s Person’: How MLA Amit Shah’s pioneering work struck a chord with the people

Before delimitation in 2008, Amit Shah’s assembly constituency was the second largest in the state composed of three talukas. With urban development, harnessing youth power, addressing local environment & health issues as his key priorities Shah introduced a series of measures which were strategized to accrue long-term benefits for the residents of the constituency. These included the following:

• The ground water was fluoride contaminated and had caused severe ailments amongst the local residents for several years. Shah took this problem head-on and mobilized a budget of Rs.1400 crore to ensure continuous supply of clean drinking water.
• A believer of youth power and a sports enthusiast, Shah developed a modern sports academy in his constituency with top-notch sports facilities. Today, the academy offers a variety of games including badminton, table tennis, swimming, skating, volleyball and cricket.
• To cope with the problem of climate change, Shah developed 75 gardens in his assembly constituency and facilitated plantation of more than 1.25 lakh trees to improve air quality and provide a green cover for future generations. He also spent Rs.80 crore to construct 30 km of drains to address the problem of water logging.
• Understanding the importance of water conservation, he facilitated construction of water bodies along with rain water harvesting structures.
• Solid waste management has also been his priority as he introduced door-to-door collection of household garbage and constructed solid waste management plant for effective recycling.
• During his tenure, a number of flyovers, underpasses, bridges, and a ring road were constructed to ensure smooth flow of traffic. This initiative not only reduced the traveling time significantly but also helped bring down pollution levels.
• Shah’s constituency did not have even a single crematorium causing a lot of problems for locals. Feeling the plight of the people he facilitated the construction a modern crematorium.
• He executed a number of beautification projects including  fountains and  the Gaurav Path in thickly populated areas.
• He is also given credit for rehabilitating thousands of slum dwellers and beautification of land cleared by removal of slums.

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1998 - State Secretary, Gujarat BJP

• His organizational capacity was recognised by the top BJP leadership and at a relatively younger age of 34 years, Shah... Read more
• His organizational capacity was recognised by the top BJP leadership and at a relatively younger age of 34 years, Shah was appointed as the Secretary of the Gujarat unit of Bharatiya Janta Party in the year 1998.

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1999 - State Vice-President, Gujarat BJP

After a year, Shah was entrusted with the responsibility of Vice-President of the Gujarat unit of Bharatiya Janta Party in 1999.

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2000 - Chairman, Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank

Amit Shah became the youngest Chairman of the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB) at the age of 36 years. Within a span of just one year, he not only recovered the loss of Rs 20.28 crore but made the bank attain a profit of Rs 6.60 crore and also distributed a dividend of 10 percent. 

Notable achievements as Chairman of ADCB

• When Shah took over the reins of this cooperative bank, it was undergoing a massive loss of Rs Rs.20.28 crore and had not paid a dividend to its shareholders for several years. Though initially he faced stiff opposition for his proposals, Shah’s sharp acumen, leadership and problem-solving skills, turned around both his critics and most importantly, the bank within just a year. The bank not only recovered its losses but also posted a net profit of Rs.6.60 crore and paid a dividend of 10%. In the following years, the bank continued to register profits and gave a dividend of 13.77%. During his tenure as Chairman, ADCB became the topmost Cooperative Bank of Gujarat.
• During his tenure as the President of ADCB, State Bank of India suddenly stopped the overdraft facilities against fixed deposits facility to cooperative banks. But owing to his untiring efforts, SBI had to take back its decision within 48 hours. This benefitted all the Cooperative Banks in the state.
• Sensitive to the needs of the poorest of poor in rural areas, Shah enhanced insurance cover for laborer's and farmers to Rs.10,000 from Rs.2,500 and Rs.500 respectively.
• Around this time, Madhavpura Bank Ahmedabad went bankrupt, putting depositors with savings of Rs. 800 crores and the entire co-operative banking sector at risk. The problem engulfed the entire cooperative banking system in the state and the people were desperate to withdraw their money. A depositor, who belonged to Shah’s constituency, couldn’t bear the shock and committed suicide. He was shaken by the turn of events and took it upon himself to revive Madhavpura Bank. As a part of this herculean effort, Shah got state and national financial institutions on board and prepared a detailed plan to bring back the bank on track. He not only successfully revived the bank but also introduced a deposit insurance scheme that helped depositors and account holders recover their Rs. 400 crores.

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2001 - National Coordinator, Cooperative Wing, BJP

In 2001, Amit Shah was appointed as the National Coordinator of the Cooperative Wing of Bharatiya Janta Party. During this period, his impactful deliveries and proven track record, led his colleagues to adorn him with a  new name ‘The Grandfather of the Cooperative Movement’ in his honor.

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2002 - Minister, Gujarat Government

Amit Shah was sworn in as a minister in Gujarat Government for the first time in 2002 and was given charge of important departments like Home, Traffic, Prohibition, Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Excise. His accomplishments as the Gujarat Home Minister was much appreciated. During his tenure the state witnessed a significant drop in crime rates and no communal conflict was reported. While he took significant steps to modernize the state police, in the same vein he was also instrumental in establishing a state-of-the-art Forensic Laboratory. Notably, the world’s first Forensic Science University was started in Gujarat during his tenure. The traffic Branch of police to secure highways was reconstituted which significantly brought down road accidents and highway crimes. Gujarat’s progress in smart policing was praised by the National Crime Bureau, Govt. of India, when it declared Gujarat as the most peaceful state in the country with regard to labour, industrial and farm conflicts. Shah took up several such steps during his tenure as Home Minister under the guidance of then Gujarat CM Shri Narendra Modi, which paved a new path for policing in Gujarat and made the state a role model for other states.

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2006 - President, Gujarat Chess Association

Himself an avid chess player, Amit Shah became the President of Gujarat Chess Association in 2006.  It was during his tenure the national chess championship (National-B) was organized in Gujarat.

Significant Achievements

• On a pilot basis, Shah introduced chess in schools of Ahmedabad in keeping with his belief that exercises of the body and mind are equally important for overall personality development of children. After the introduction of chess, a study found that IQ of kids who played the game, developed at a faster pace. Subsequently, on advice of then Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, chess was introduced in schools at the state level.
• During his tenure, a national championship of chess (National-B) was organised for the first time in Gujarat.
• Gujarat also earned its name in the Guinness Book of World Records when it organised a chess championship that saw participation of 20,000 players. The state, thus, broke the record of Mexico that had seen the participation of 18,000 chess players in a competition. It also earned a place for itself in the Limca Book of Records when it organised an all-women chess championship with 4,000 participants.
• These endeavours have catalysed Gujarat into producing a number of national and international chess players. This list of chess players include Grand Masters Tejas Bakre and Ankit Rajpara and International Women Master Dhyani Dave.

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2009 - President, Central Board of Cricket Association, Ahmedabad & Vice-President, Gujarat State Cricket Association

In 2009, Amit Shah was appointed as the President of the Ahmedabad Central Board of Cricket Association and the Vice-President of Gujarat State Cricket Association.

Key highlights of his tenure as Cricket Administrator

• For the first time Mr. Shah created posts of Director, Deputy Director, and Coach at GCA academy. His thoughtful initiative ensured better training for youngsters which resulted in a number of young players getting included in India’s U-19 cricket team.
• The deposit base of GCA expanded to Rs. 163 crore from a mere Rs. 22.25 crore.
• Earlier only the players with the record of playing at least 24 Ranji matches received pension from BCCI. Today however players who have played even one Ranji match from Gujarat are entitled to get this pension. Even the wives of former cricketers now get pension which has given a big boost to their financial security.
• Redevelopment of Ahmedabad’s Motera Stadium was initiated during his tenure.

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2010 - Fake Encounter Case

Mr. Amit Shah was sent to jail in 2010 in a fake encounter case concocted to fulfill political grudge He was acquitted from all charges by a special CBI court on the grounds that all accusations were politically motivated. 

Entire Case was politically motivated

Under leadership of Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah successfully dented Congress party’s political prospects in the state by wiping it out at all levels. During his tenure as home minister of Gujarat, a dreaded terrorist Sohrabuddin Sheikh was gunned down by the state police, the Congress led UPA government at the centre, framed charges of fake encounter against Shah to avenge their political slide in Gujarat. During this period the country recorded 1200 encounter cases and Gujarat just 19. However, due to Congress’ intent of political vendetta, all the 19 cases of Gujarat and just one case from the remaining 1189 cases were selected for the inquiry. When he was granted bail after 90 days, the court observed that “There is no prima facie evidence against Amit Shah”. But despite getting bail, he was forced to stay out of Gujarat for two years. In 2015, a special CBI court finally acquitted Shah of all charges with a remark “entire case was politically motivated.”

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2013 - National General Secretary, BJP

Recognizing the political acumen and efficiency of Shah, the BJP's national leadership made him the National General Secretary before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and he was given the charge of the politically most significant state Uttar Pradesh which sends 80 MPs to the Loksabha. Under Shah’s stewardship, BJP won a record 73 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Leading return of BJP in Uttar Pradesh

• It is often said, that the party that wins Uttar Pradesh, wins the throne of Delhi. When Shah took charge of the state, BJP was in a tough spot and was struggling for its survival, as party was reduced to just 15% vote share in 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
• He broke down the moribund structure of the party and rebuilt it from the scratch. Known for his firm grip on poll arithmetic, Shah devised strategy to mobilise support of those social groups who had never associated themselves with BJP. He also struck alliances with local parties like Apna Dal and expanded the  BJP’s footprint in Uttar Pradesh. Shah travelled across the state, spent dozens of nights at district headquarters and interacted with local leaders to understand complexities of local politics, which helped him devise counter strategy to take on parties like SP and BSP. 
• Owing to his social engineering, ground level strategy and Mr. Narendra Modi’s popularity, BJP created history and won a massive mandate by winning 73 of the 80 Loksabha seats of UP. The Party got 42.6% of the total votes, which was highest ever till then.

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2014 - President, Gujarat State Cricket Association

In 2014, after Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, Amit Shah was appointed the President of "Gujarat State Cricket Association." With his efforts GCA started rebuilding of "Motera Cricket Stadium" which is now known as “Narendra Modi Stadium” and is considered to be one of the best stadiums in the world. 

Key highlights of accomplishments as President-GCA

• The jurisdiction of cricket ground of Gujarat Science College was transferred from the State Government to Gujarat Cricket Association. Consequently, over 200 cricket matches are now played every year on this ground. This facility and practice opportunity has helped dozens of cricket players from Gujarat got breaks in different IPL teams.
• For the first time Shah created posts of the Director, Deputy Director, and Coach at GCA academy. His thoughtful initiative ensured better training for youngsters which resulted in a number of young players getting included in India’s U-19 cricket team.

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2014 - National President, BJP (2014-2020)

Acknowledging Amit Shah’s organizational capabilities and commitment towards the party's ideology, the senior party leaders appointed him as the BJP's National President in July 2014. At 49 years of age, Shah became the youngest National President, a record that remains unbeaten so far.

Some significant milestones include:

Shah’s tireless efforts and his unflinching commitment to party’s programmes and ideology got him the coveted post of National President in July, 2014. He got second term in 2016 and his entire term lasted till 2019. With political experience and training as a grassroots worker, he seamlessly discharged his duties.

• Expanding electoral footprint of the BJP: Prior to 2014, BJP was considered to be a party of Hindi heartland and a few western states. But after 2014, due to the popularity of PM Modi and efforts of Shah, BJP not only further strengthened its hold in its traditional bastions but also expanded to the northeastern, and eastern states and also some parts of the southern states. BJP succeeded in having its CMs in northeastern states of Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh; party also became part of ruling alliances in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim. North East Development Alliance (NEDA), a brainchild of Shah, played an important role in political growth of BJP in the north east.  In eastern India, BJP formed its government in Jharkhand in 2014, NDA returned to power in Bihar and BJP emerged as the main opposition party in Odisha and West Bengal after its historical success in 2019 Loksabha Elections. Despite forming government in Karnataka and winning four Loksabha seats in Telangana, BJP still has to go a long way in the south, though party has increased its voter base in all southern states. However, due to local factors, during Shah’s tenure the party lost assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But party retuned with a bang in 2019 Lok Sabha election by winning 70 of total 72 Loksabha seats falling in these 4 states. Prime Minister Modi’s popularity was one of the main factors in all these electoral feats of the BJP between 2014 to 2019. However, Shah’s strategic acumen and organizational skills also played a very important role.
• Re-establishing the tradition of ‘Pravas’ (touring): Shah re-established the tradition of Pravas (tours) in the BJP by introducing several new strategic initiatives. Touring was made more effective by introducing concepts like Chakriya Pravas and emphasis on overnight stays. Shah also introduced austerity measures by discouraging five-star culture and travel by chartered planes. Such measures to a large scale succeeded in bridging gaps between leaders and common workers. Shah promoted tour culture by setting example by himself, he became first BJP president to tour all states of India within first year of his tenure and during his tenure he spent at least one night in 90% district HQs of India.
• Membership Drive: Shah introduced a transparent technology-based membership drive. Such was the effect of Shah and PM Modi’s popularity that in a short period of time BJP membership rose from 2.47 Cr. to 11.20 Cr. and it became the world’s largest party overtaking Communist Party of China. Thanks to Shah’s efforts today BJP boasts of more than 18 Cr. members. It is noteworthy that only seven countries in the world have bigger populations than the number of BJP members in India.
• Training Drive: An extensive training drive was also launched to train newly inducted party members. The objective was to train them about party’s ideology and programs so that they could become active members of the party. Millions of workers were trained in thousands of training camps. Besides this Shah also organized training camps for office bearers and assistants of ministers.
• Building offices down to district level: Shah took up ambitious project of building BJP office in every district HQ of the country.  Thanks to Shah’s vision the BJP has either a fully furnished office or one in progress in every district today.
• Promoting reading by building libraries:  An avid himself reader, Shah made libraries an integral part of BJP offices. He also initiated a project to digitize all party documents.
• Restructuring Party Organization: Before Shah took over, the BJP organization had dozens of departments and cells. Most of these departments and cells did not have a clear mandate and were dysfunctional. Shah dissolved all of them and scientifically carved out 19 departments and 10 projects with a clear mandate and objectives. He also ensured that this structure is followed in each state organization. He constituted a special team for implementation of this initiative. 
• Sampark (outreach) for Smarthan (support): BJP under Shah selected 4000 public representatives to reach out to Eminent personalities from different fields. The objective was to educate these opinion makers about good work done by the Modi government and seek their support for the party. Shah himself started this campaign on the 29th of May in 2018 and met formers Chief of Army Gen Dalbeer Suhag & constitution expert Mr. Subhash Kashyap. Shah met about two dozen eminent personalities under this drive.
• Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Vistarak Yojana: Shah once said, “to win election one has to win polling booth”. Following this principle, Shah designed this project to strengthen the party at polling booth level. Party workers, who were given the responsibility to appoint booth teams and give them party programs, were designated as Booth Vistaraks. At national level, party appointed 400 thousand Vistaraks. Among them more than 4 thousand were full time Vistaraks (6 to 12 month engagement). Shah himself played the role of a Vistarak and visited 15 booths across five states, starting from Naxalbari of West Bengal.
• All India Presidential Vistrit (Extensive) Paravas (Tour): At Bhubaneshwar Executive Meeting of the party in 2017, Shah announced All India Extensive Tour for himself. The purpose was to strengthen party organization and imbibe confidence in party workers. Under the program, Shah visited all states of India spending 3 days in big states, 2 days in medium states and 1 day in UTs and small states. Shah spent 60 days (46 days night stays) travelling more than 50 thousand kilometres. He held 309 organizational meetings and direct interactions with intellectuals, media and other social and economic organizations. During this drive history was made as for the first time National, State, District, Mandal and Booth Presidents of the BJP shared dais.
• Strategy for Weak states: Shah devised a strategy to expand party footprint in seven weak states namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Odisha, Tamilnadu, Telengana and West Bengal. Party leaders panned out in these states, programs were made for PM Modi and Shah himself extensively toured. The strategy worked, BJP formed its government in Assam and increased its Loksabha MP tally from 14 in 2014 to 41 in 2019 in these seven states. 
• Strategy for North East: PM Modi made the Northeast a special focus area in his programs due to the region's importance in national unity and its potential for development. Shah took it as an opportunity to expand the party to the region. Due to his relentless efforts, the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), an alliance of like-minded parties, was formed. Bolstered with the induction of strong local leaders, the BJP/NDA formed its government in all northeastern states including Sikkim. In 2019 the NEDA’s tally in the Lok Sabha swelled from 8 to 18

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2016 - Trustee, Shri Somnath Temple, Gujarat

In the year 2016, Amit Shah was made the trustee of the Somnath Temple Trust. Aadi Jyothirlinga Shri Somnath Mahadev Temple is one of the 12 sacred Jyotirlingas, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Mr. Lal Krishna Advani are also the trustees of this Trust. 

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2017 - Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

Shah did not contest 2017 Gujarat assembly election and after serving the people as MLA, he entered Indian parliament in 2017 as Member of Rajyasabha from Gujarat.

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2019 - Member of Parliament (Loksabha)

Being a people’s person, Shah chose to enter parliament by contesting Loksabha election from Gujarat’s prestigious Gandhinagar Loksabha seat in 2019. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Adwani also contested in this seat several times in the past. Shah won by a record margin. He defeated his nearest rival of Congress party by a record margin of 5 lakh 57 thousand votes by securing 70 percent votes polled. He took oath as Loksabha member on 17th June 2019. 

Took oath as Union Minister in Modi government (30 May 2019)

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2019 - Assume Charge as Union Home Minister (01 June 2019)

Assume Charge as Union Home Minister on 1st June 2019.

Achievements as Home Minister of India

As Home Minister in Gujarat, Amit Shah used to constantly draw attention to the subjects which were obstructing the security and sovereignty of the country. Today, when he is the Home Minister of the country, he is becoming an important participant in the serious steps taken on those aspects under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi. During his tenure as the Home Minister, the Modi government at the Center has taken conciliatory decisions on many historical and decades-old issues related to making the country's internal security impenetrable. Though the work is in progress but some of the notable works done in the first three years are as following.

Abrogation of Article 370 & 35A: The path to peace and progress has been opened in the Kashmir Valley due to a permanent solution to a decades-old problem like Article 370. Path to abrogate Article 370 was not an easy one due to various legal hurdles & lack of required majority in the Rajya Sabha. Once again the Chanakya in Shah was at play, he not only navigated across legal hurdles but also managed to garner required support in the Parliament to achieve what had always appeared impossible. Shah made historic speech in the both houses of Parliament and was applauded by none other than Prime Minister Modi himself who gave him full support in implementing this landmark amendment. This historic decision has demoralized and weakened the designs of separatism and terrorism in Kashmir. Grassroots democracy has been reinstated in Kashmir by holding peaceful panchayat elections and now Kashmir valley is experiencing fruits of development like rest of India.

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA): Besides Article 370, CAA has been part of the BJP's election manifestos for a long time. It was only Shah under PM Modi who not only had the resolve to legislate the CAA successfully but also the courage to do the same. Baffled opposition instigated demonstrations across the country but Shah did not budge and ensured that the CAA becomes a reality. This legislation has given hopes to millions of Indians who were facing unabated persecution on the basis of religion in other countries for decades. Thousand of people have already been given Indian citizenship under the CAA.

Return of peace and Progress in North East: After becoming the Home Minister, Amit Shah also peacefully resolved the pending problems related to the borders of the north-eastern states and internal security there. Vexed issues like Bru-Reang Pact, resolution of Assam-Meghalaya border dispute, resolution of Bodo problem are among few achievements worth mentioning. 

Handling Left Wing Extremism & Terrorism: Shah made a concrete strategy on the policy of zero tolerance against left-wing extremism. Today, this menace has been pushed to the corner and is breathing its last. The newly attained readiness of the internal security system to tackle terrorism has reduced terrorist activities to mere sporadic incidents.

New approach to Disaster Management: After becoming the Home Minister, Shah prepared a complete blueprint to organize the new approach to disaster management according to the ten-point agenda set by PM Modi. His approach to disaster management covers all the crucial aspects related to management of calamities beginning from advanced planning to the re-habilitation of affected people. Now the people of India trust National Disaster Response Force and feel safe in the presence of the force even during calamities.

Giant Stride towards Drug Free India: Amit Shah, as the Home Minister, took several steps at the policy level to deal with the challenges of drug trade and drug consumption. 

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2021 - Assume Charge as Minister of Cooperation

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the Ministry of Cooperation on July 6, 2021, Amit Shah was given its charge. Shah's experience in the cooperative sector is wide and extensive. Under the guidance of PM Modi, Ministry of Cooperation is working with the pledge for “Sahakar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation). Shah is working with the goal of positioning the cooperative movement for modern challenges while eliminating instability, creating a transparent system and restoring the confidence of the smallest farmer in the cooperative sector. Shah believes that a robust cooperative movement can become growth engine of India and immensely contribute to the country’s GDP. 

In a revolutionary step, the Ministry has decided to computerize 63000 PACs across India to ensure maximum transparency and modernization. On the basis of recommendation of Cooperation Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the housing loan limits of Cooperative Banks by double. In addition to this, now like corporate banks, cooperative banks are also providing door step service to its customers.

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2024 - Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)

Shri Amit Shah scored an even bigger victory in the Lok Sabha Election 2024 than in 2019. This time, he defeated his nearest rival by a vast margin of 744,716 votes. Shri Shah bagged a massive 10,10,972 votes. He took the oath as Lok Sabha Member for the second time in 24 June 2024.

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2024 - Took oath as Union Minister in Modi government.

On June 9th, 2024, Shri Amit Shah took the oath as a minister in the Union Cabinet for the second time.

Reassumed charge as Union Home Minister

Shri Amit Shah reassumed his role as Union Home Minister for the second consecutive tenure on June 11, 2024.

Shri Shah embarked on his next journey as Union Cabinet Minister, bolstered by the success he attained in his previous tenure. In his first tenure, Shah was adorned by the achievements of abrogating Article 370, containing terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast, and left-wing extremist-affected areas. As the Home Minister, Shri Shah was also credited with the achievement of replacing colonial criminal laws with indigenous legislation, paving the way for comprehensive reform in the criminal justice system.

Reassumed charge as Union Minister of Cooperation

Shri Amit Shah reassumed his role as Minister of Cooperation for the second consecutive tenure on June 11, 2024. As the Minister of Cooperation, Shri Shah was celebrated for the computerization of 63,000 PACS and for empowering cooperative banks by doubling their limits for providing housing loans. Now, even cooperative banks can provide door-to-door services.

GALLERY | Official Website

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