7 chief ministers in Modi 3.0, a look at their political journeys

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath of office on Sunday for the third consecutive time, equalling the record set and held by Jawaharlal Nehru, who led his Congress party to victories in 1951-52, 1957 and 1962 national elections. Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to three successive wins in the parliamentary elections — 2014, 2019 and 2024.

Modi’s elevation from a four-term chief minister to the prime ministerial position came on the back of a nationwide groundswell in his party’s favour in 2014. The BJP won 282 seats and the NDA over 300 berths in the 543-member Lok Sabha. In 2019, the BJP and NDA’s strength increased in the Lok Sabha as they won more than 300 and 350 seats respectively in the House.

In the new NDA government, there are seven former chief ministers, giving it a wide experience of running the administration.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi, then a general secretary of the BJP, was sent from Delhi to Gujarat to head the state government against the backdrop of reports of public anger against the BJP rule over alleged mismanagement of the post-Bhuj earthquake rehabilitation process in 2001.

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The earthquake had hit on January 26, 2001, and Modi, who had coordinated the rehabilitation efforts, became the CM on October 7, 2001. This was seen as an attempt to deflect public anger against the party as it came a year ahead of the state polls, due for 2002, which the BJP won months after the post-Godhra riots. Modi led the BJP to two more state election victories — in 2007 and 2012 before his elevation to national politics in the 2014 parliamentary polls.

The successive Modi governments in Gujarat and later at the Centre have been credited with significant economic development first in Gujarat, which became a model known as the “Gujarat Model” of development, and then at the national level.

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As the prime minister, Modi launched initiatives like ‘Make in India’, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, and ‘Digital India’.

In 2014, Modi became the sixth former chief minister to become the prime minister. But he remains the only leader who has completed multiple terms as both the chief minister and the prime minister.

Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh served as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister from 2000 to 2002. He also served as a Union minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre. Under Modi, Singh has served as the Union home minister in Modi 1.0 and the defence minister as 2.0.

Before becoming the chief minister, Singh had served as the education minister in Uttar Pradesh’s Kalyan Singh government. His tenure as the education minister was momentous in giving a new direction to school education, particularly the way exams were conducted. He brought the Anti Copying Act, 1992.

Also, in the second Vajpayee government, as the Union surface transport minister (1999-2000), Singh was instrumental in bringing out the National Highway Development Project, which has been the bedrock of highway and expressway development in the country since then.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Shivraj Singh Chouhan was a Lok Sabha member, when in 2005, the BJP leadership gave him the responsibility to lead the government in Madhya Pradesh, where remained in office uninterrupted until 2018, when his party polled more votes but fewer seats than the Congress, which formed government after 15 years. But Chouhan returned to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in 2020.

During his four terms as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Chouhan earned the reputation of being pro-women with welfare schemes such as the ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojana’ and ‘Beti Bachao Abhiyan’ aimed at improving the status of girls and women. He also won the Krishi Karman Award for his state’s performance in agriculture. Chouhan holds the record of the longest-serving chief minister among the BJP leaders.

Manohar Lal Khattar

Manohar Lal Khattar headed the BJP’s first solo government in Haryana from 2014 to 2019, and then a coalition government from 2019 to 2024. As the chief minister, he promoted e-governance and digital initiatives, and worked on campaigns like ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ to improve the condition of girls in the state.

HD Kumaraswamy

Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) HD Kumaraswamy, the son of former PM HD Deve Gowda, has served as the Karnataka CM twice — 2006 to 2007 and 2018 to 2019. He is possibly the only former CM-cum-Union minister in the NDA government with a background of a film producer in Kannada film industry.

Jitan Ram Manjhi

Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi served as the Bihar CM from May 2014 to February 2015. Back then, he was part of the Janata Dal-United of Nitish Kumar, the current chief minister of Bihar. It was also the time when Nitish Kumar had pulled out of the NDA over his differences with the BJP following the elevation of Modi as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 national polls.

Sarbananda Sonowal

Sarbananda Sonowal led the first BJP government in Assam 2016 to 2021 as the party ended a three-term rule of the Congress in the most influential state in the Northeast. He served as the minister of ports, shipping and waterways, and of AYUSH in the second Modi government. He played a key role in the construction of the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, enhancing connectivity in the Northeast.

These leaders have had diverse and impactful careers, shaping the political and social landscapes of their respective states. Their parties claim to furthering their legacies with the aim to influence current policies and governance.