Claim: Narendra Modi rose to the rank of general secretary of the BJP.

Narendra Damodardas Modi -LRB- -LSB- ˈnəɾeːnd̪rə d̪aːmoːd̪əɾˈd̪aːs ˈmoːd̪iː -RSB- , born 17 September 1950 -RRB- is an Indian politician who is the 14th and current Prime Minister of India , in office since May 2014 . He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 , and is the Member of Parliament for Varanasi . Modi , a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party -LRB- BJP -RRB- , is a Hindu nationalist and member of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -LRB- RSS -RRB- .   Born to a Gujarati family in Vadnagar , Modi helped his father sell tea as a child , and later ran his own stall . He was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight , beginning a long association with the organisation . He left home after graduating from school , partly because of an arranged marriage which he rejected . Modi traveled around India for two years , and visited a number of religious centres . He returned to Gujarat and moved to Ahmedabad in 1969 or 1970 . In 1971 he became a full-time worker for the RSS . During the state of emergency imposed across the country in 1975 , Modi was forced to go into hiding . The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 , and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001 , rising to the rank of general secretary .   Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 , due to Keshubhai Patel 's failing health and poor public image following the earthquake in Bhuj . Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after . His administration has been considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots , or otherwise criticised for its handling of it , although a court found no evidence to prosecute Modi . His policies as chief minister , credited with encouraging economic growth , have received praise . His administration has been criticised for failing to significantly improve health , poverty , and education indices in the state .   Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election , which gave the party a majority in the Lok Sabha , the first time a single party had achieved this since 1984 . Modi himself was elected to parliament from Varanasi . Since taking office , Modi 's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy , increased spending on infrastructure , and reduced spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes . Modi has attempted to improve efficiency in the bureaucracy , and centralised power through the abolition of the planning commission . He has begun a high-profile sanitation campaign , and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws . Credited with engineering a political realignment towards right-wing politics , Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his role during the 2002 Gujarat riots , cited as evidence of an exclusionary social agenda .