PM Modi remembers his 1st election win from Rajkot. It was on Feb 24, 2002: Watch

Narendra Modi said Rajkot will always remain very special to him as it made him an MLA for the first time in 2002.

Published on: Feb 24, 2024, 19:10:20 IST

By HT News Desk

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared the video of his filing an election nomination for the first time in 2002, exactly 22 years ago on February 24. PM Modi said it is a happy coincidence that he is in Gujarat for two days and will attend a programme in Rajkot -- from where he contested the first election of his life. "Rajkot will always have a very special place in my heart. It was the people of this city who put their faith in me, giving me my first ever electoral win. Since then, I have always worked to do justice to the aspirations of the Janta Janardan. It’s also a happy coincidence that I will be in Gujarat today and tomorrow, and one of the programmes is being held in Rajkot, from where 5 AIIMS will be dedicated to the nation," PM Modi tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday shared a video of his filing election nomination for the first time in 2002.

The video was shared by Modi Archive, a platform that narrates the journey of PM Modi through archival pictures, videos, audio recordings, letters, newspaper clips and such other material. "On February 24 2002, exactly 22 years ago today, @narendramodi stepped into the Gujarat Legislature as an MLA for the first time. This victory marked the dawn of a promising new era not only for Gujarat but also for India and the world," Modi Archive wrote sharing clips from 2002.

"Just four months ago, he (Modi) had taken over as Gujarat's chief minister in the wake of the devastating Gujarat earthquakes. Narendra Modi was skilled in political management and mobilisation of the party cadre during elections. Many of the slogans and the electoral strategies that helped the BJP change the course of national politics in the 1990s were of Modi's making. Yet, Modi himself had never contested a popular election so far. But when put to the test, Narendra Modi's popularity has always stood by him. Chief minister Narendra Modi triumphed by a respectable margin of 14,728 votes. The victory gave legitimacy to his chief ministership," the archive wrote.

“Finally, Rajkot has elected me as their MLA. I had requested the people of Rajkot to hold me tightly and not let me go, to put me through agni pariksha. I was not expecting that the voters from Rajkot would make me pass with distinction,” Narendra Modi said after winning the first election of his life.

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