In mid 1968, Modi reached Belur Math but was turned away, after which he visited Calcutta, West Bengal and Assam, stopping in Siliguri and Guwahati. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including a reduction in child and maternal mortality rates. India goes to the polls this spring in what will be the world’s largest electoral exercise – with more than 900 million registered voters in the world’s most populous country of 1.

Several people who voted for the BJP stated they would have voted for another party if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate. The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%; private insurance providers positively viewed the budget but public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers and said it represented a shift away from public health facilities. He was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals who were wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists. Through speeches and media, Modi has successfully deployed a populist style and manufactured his public image as the champion of the poor. In 2001, Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat and elected to the legislative assembly soon after.

India is at last becoming a single market, letting firms exploit economies of scale and promising faster business investment. f] In the 2014 Indian general election, Modi led the BJP to a parliamentary majority, the first for a party since 1984.

Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th Most Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. India’s status as the largest democraBoth Macron and Modi should act to ensure that democracy and human rights are the foundation stones upon which this burgeoning relationship is built. The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement. Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as bold climate action.

But Hindutva holds little appeal in the south, and by pushing it further while concentrating more power in his own hands, Mr Modi could exacerbate already rising tensions over internal migrants, tax revenues and representation. In 2015, Modi was named one of Time 's "30 Most Influential People on the Internet" because he was the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook. He projected himself as a person who could bring about "development" without focusing on specific policies.

The most comprehensive study of Modi’s India to date offers a bleak and unsparing view of the direction of the country. The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence. It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality and its position with respect to individual consumption declined. Modi began a high-profile sanitation campaign, controversially initiated the 2016 demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes and introduced the Goods and Services Tax, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws.