Narendra Modi: From tea vendor to PM Photogallery

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Modi-led NDA is ready form the next government. BJP got a majority on its own, while the Congress had its worst ever defeat, according to the results from counting of votes of Generala Elections 2014. (PTI)

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A victorious Narendra Modi seeks blessings of his mother Hiraba at her home in Gandhinagar as election results showed a landslide win for BJP led by him. (PTI)

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Modi slowly took control of the BJP across the length and breadth of Gujarat, interacting intimately with activists, and played a key role in 1990 when Advani took out his Rath Yatra (chariot march) from Somnath to Ayodhya, an event that catapulted the BJP on to the national stage like never before. Modi organized Murali Manohar Joshi's Kanyakumari-Srinagar Ekta Yatra (Unity March) in 1991 when Joshi was the party president. (BCCL/Kevin Antao)

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But even as he gained political clout, he had his detractors. In 1992 he was sidelined in the Gujarat BJP. Seniors like Keshubhai Patel, Shankersinh Vaghela and Kanshiram Rana resented Modi's rise. He was said to boss over others. Over time, Modi was accused of exploiting differences among other leaders to his own benefit, eventually replacing chief minister Patel - whose confidant he was earlier -- in 2001. (BCCL/Sanjay Hadkar)

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Modi's present day identity is largely influenced by the 2002 communal violence when his government was widely blamed for conspiring with Hindu rioters against Muslims, over 1,000 of whom died in that carnage. (BCCL/Yogesh Chawda)

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Modi faced the prospect of being sacked only after a few months in office as then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was deeply anguished over the Gujarat violence. But Advani came to Modi's rescue. Modi later led the party to a remarkable win in 2002 - and has never looked back. (PTI/PTI)

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Over time, Modi became a symbol of development and the party's ability to deliver good governance. Large sections of the middle class began to root for him, especially for his I-can-do attitude and his resolve to fix the ills of the nation plaguing by multiple problems, including a languishing economy. (PTI/PTI)

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That was enough for the BJP, out of power for a decade, to prop up the determined Modi as its election campaign chief in June and, on September 13, 2013, as its prime ministerial candidate. (BCCL/Sanjeev Rastogi)

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