New Delhi:
With the task of galvanising the BJP's organisational machinery
to craft a return of the
Modi government done, party president Amit
Shah is set
to combine
his astute political mind
with
his delivery skills
to help
his mentor Prime Minister Narendra
Modi implement
his
governance
agenda in the next five years.
Modi's decision
to bring
Shah in
his cabinet signals that he will now play a crucial role in the government, effectively the go-
to man for the prime minister, several party leaders believe.
However, Rajnath Singh will remain officially the number two in the government, as made clear by him being the first minister
to take oath after
Modi.
For all practical purposes, he has been the party's second most powerful leader after
Modi since he became its president in 2014 after the BJP-led NDA assumed power.
Shah made
his debut in
Lok Sabha
with a massive win from Gandhinagar, a seat earlier represented by BJP veteran L K Advani.
Shah (54) was a crucial aide
to
Modi during
his near 13-year-old reign as Gujarat chief minister between 2001-14, holding the powerful home portfolio during which he also got embroiled in a case of alleged fake encounter. He was discharged from it.
Though
his organisational skills are much-storied since he delivered 71 of 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh in 2014, prompting
Modi
to call him "man of the match" of the BJP's win in that general election, BJP leaders say he was also instrumental in executive a number of welfare policies of the party's government in Gujarat.
Unapologetic of
his hardcore nationalism and Hindutva
agenda,
Shah's presence in the government is set
to enthuse the party's base, which has grown in leaps and bounds under
his tenure, and gives the signal that the
Modi dispensation may pursue its ideological
agenda
with even bigger vigour in its new avatar.
He has strongly supported the expansion of National Register of Citizens in different parts of the country
to identify and expel illegal immigrants, whom he has termed "termites", scrapping of Article 370 and 35A, which gives special powers
to Jammu and Kashmir, and building of Ram temple in
Ayodhya.
BJP leaders said
Shah also strongly believes in the pro-poor and development
agenda of the government
to win over the masses, an aim the party successfully achieved in this election by drawing votes from a huge chunk of backwards and Dalits.
A keen political mind who is known
to spend hours
with
his colleagues discussing nitty-gritty of specific constituencies,
Shah's presence in the government is unlikely
to wane
his interest in the party's organisational
agenda and he will continue
to be a key influencer in setting its
agenda, party leaders said.
Known as an astute strategist whose non-political interests range from playing chess and watching cricket
to stage performances and listening
to classical music,
Shah is often hailed as the BJP's most successful president for crafting its way
to power states after states before orchestrating its biggest Lok Sabha win.
The BJP won 303 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats, 21 more than the last time.
Shah has been associated
with the BJP since he was 14 years of age and has risen through its ranks.