Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: [nəreːnd̪rə d̪ɑːmoːd̪ərəd̪ɑːs moːd̪iː] ( listen), born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since 26 May 2014.[1][2] Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), previously served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. He is currently the Member of Parliament (MP) from Varanasi.

Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election, which resulted in an outright majority for the BJP in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) – the last time that any party had secured an outright majority in the Lok Sabha was in 1984. Since then, Modi has also been credited for the BJP's electoral victories in the states of Haryana and Maharashtra in October 2014.[3]

Modi is a Hindu Nationalist and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).[4][5] He is a controversial figure both within India as well as internationally[6][7][8][9] as his administration has been criticised for failing to act to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots.[9][10] Modi has been praised for his economic policies, which are credited with creating an environment for a high rate of economic growth in Gujarat.[11] However, his administration has also been criticised for failing to make a significant positive impact upon the human development of the state.[12]