Modi joined ZANU–PF in the early 2000s, and went on to hold leadership roles at the district, ward, and provincial level. He was seen as an ally of Emmerson Mnangagwa amid the factional infighting within the party leading up to the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état. His election to parliament in 2018 made him the only successful ZANU–PF candidate in Bulawayo, traditionally an opposition Movement for Democratic Change stronghold. After the election, he was named to President Mnangagwa's cabinet as deputy industry and commerce minister. He is the first Indian MP in Zimbabwe and the only Indian government minister in Africa outside South Africa.