Amit Shah is a prominent Indian politician. He is the current Home Minister of India, the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and a Lok Sabha Member. He is a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He shot to fame in 2014, when he was given the charge of managing the BJP’s election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. Under his leadership, the BJP recorded its best performance in Uttar Pradesh by winning 73 seats out of 80.
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Wiki/Biography
Amit Shah was born on Thursday, 22 October 1964 (age 58 years; as of 2022) in Mumbai. His zodiac sign is Libra. His full name is Amit Anilchandra Shah. He did his schooling from the Jyoti Higher Secondary School in Ahmedabad. He pursued Biochemistry from the CU Shah Science College in Ahmedabad. He worked for his father’s PVC pipe business, after completing his college education. Amit Shah also worked as a stockbroker in the Co-Operative Banks of Ahmedabad.
Amit Shah
Amit Shah was interested in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood. He used to take part in the neighbourhood branches of the RSS. He officially got into the RSS as a Swayamsevak (Volunteer) when he was in college. It was there that he met Narendra Modi in 1982 in Ahmedabad.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 6″
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Grey
Amit Shah
Family, Caste & Wife
Amit Shah belongs to a Hindu Vaishnav Family, and he is a Gujarati Baniya. Earlier when his caste wasn’t known, many media persons and politicians claimed that he was a Jain. On 6 April 2018, he refuted these claims in a press conference in Mumbai by stating that he is a Hindu Vaishnav and not a Jain .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO5RBrE0U5c
His father, Anilchandra Shah, was a businessman from Mansa in Gujarat. His mother, Kusumben Shah, was a homemaker. He has a sister, Aarthi Shah. He is married to Sonal Shah and they have a son, Jay Shah, who is a businessman and is married to Rishita Patel.
Amit Shah With His Wife Sonal Shah
Amit Shah’s Son Jay Shah With His Wife Rishita Patel
Political Career
Amit Shah joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a volunteer (Swayamsevak) at the age of 14 and he used to participate in events and activities of the RSS. He joined the RSS as a member during his college days in Ahmedabad; as he was highly inspired by the nationalistic views and spirit of the RSS. In 1982, he met Narendra Modi, through the social RSS circles in Ahmedabad.
Amit Shah with Narendra Modi (centre) in 1989
In 1983, he became the leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP; Student Wing of the RSS). He was the Leader of the ABVP for four years and during this time the political wing of the RSS, i.e., the BJP was formed. In 1984, Amit Shah became a member of the BJP. His first assignment as a BJP member was to be a poll agent in Ahmedabad’s Naranpura ward. After completing his task, he was appointed as the treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Eventually, he was promoted as the State Secretary and the Vice-President of the Gujarat BJP. Over the years, he was given the responsibility to handle several campaigns and movements, such as the Ram Janambhoomi Movement and the Ekta Yatra. He successfully handled these campaigns and made the people of Gujarat in favour of the BJP. It also earned him the opportunity to handle and manage the election campaign of L.K. Advani for the 1989 Lok Sabha Elections from the Ahmedabad Constituency. He successfully managed his campaign for the next two decades until the General Elections of 2009. Amit Shah also managed the election campaign of former the Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he had contested from Gandhinagar.
Amit Shah With Narendra Modi And L.K. Advani
In 1995, he contested and won the Gujarat Assembly Elections from the Sarkhej Lok Sabha Constituency. He was appointed as the Chairman of the Gujarat State Financial Corporation; which he managed very efficiently and got it listed in stock exchanges. However, the BJP’s tenure ended in just 2 years in 1997, but Amit Shah had made a name for himself. The people of Gujarat supported and trusted him. Reportedly, the people of his constituency had access to contact him anytime with any problem, which made him a favourite among the masses. In the 1998 Gujarat Assembly Elections, Amit Shah won by a huge margin.
Amit Shah After Winning The 2002 Assembly Elections
In 2000, Narendra Modi was elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat; after the BJP removed Keshubhai Patel on complaints of inefficient governance. In 2002, Amit Shah won the Assembly Elections for the third time in a row and Narendra Modi appointed him as a minister in his cabinet. Amit Shah was the youngest minister in his cabinet. Modi had complete faith in Shah, and he put him in charge of 12 portfolios. It included ministries such as Home, Civil Defence, Prison, Law and Justice, and Border Security among many more.
Amit Shah As A Minister In Gujarat
Before the 2014 General Elections, when Narendra Modi’s name came forward as the Prime Ministerial Candidate for the BJP, Amit Shah managed his campaign. He created awareness and took the help of social media to change people’s opinions in favour of Modi. He was appointed as the BJP state in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, which led to the BJP’s best performance in the state; winning 73 out of the 80 seats. After the elections, he was appointed as the President of the BJP; a post which was held by Rajnath Singh, until he was appointed as the Home Minister in Narendra Modi’s Cabinet.
Amit Shah Being Greeted After Being Named As The BJP President
In the 2019 General Elections, he contested from the Gandhinagar Constituency in Gujarat and defeated Congress’ CJ Chavda by a margin of 5,57,014 votes. On 30 May 2019, Amit Shah was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Narendra Modi government by President Ram Nath Kovind, and he took charge as the Home Minister of India.
Amit Shah Taking Oath As A Cabinet Minister
Controversies
- Amit Shah was accused of damaging the evidence and influencing the witnesses of the 2002 Gurjat Riots case; which led to the death of approximately 1,000 Muslims.
Amit Shah Being Questioned By The CBI
- Shah was involved in the Snoopgate scandal of Gujarat. He was accused of spying on a woman related to the Ishrat Jahan Encounter Case. Ishrat Jahan was a 19-year-old girl who was encountered with 3 other people on the outskirts of Gujarat on charges of being terrorists and planning to kill Narendra Modi.
- In 2010, Amit Shah was accused of planning a fake encounter with the police of a local criminal, Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kauser Bi, and his associate Tulsiram Prajapati. The case was handed over to the CBI. The CBI stated that Sohrabuddin was extorting money from Gujarati traders and the traders collectively paid Amit Shah to eliminate Sohrabuddin. Amit Shah, along with some police officers, planned to kill Sohrabuddin. However, Amit Shah claimed that he was innocent and the charges against him were politically motivated. He blamed the Congress of using the CBI for political gains. The Police Commissioner of Gujarat said that the CBI pressurised him to implicate Shah in the case. Amit Shah was later given a clean chit in 2014.
- On 25 July 2010, he was arrested in connection to the Sohrabuddin case. He applied for bail and the Gujarat High Court granted him bail after three months on 29 October 2010. On 30 October 2019, the CBI raised concerns over Shah using his political power to influence people and prevent justice. This led to the Gujarat High Court barring him to enter Gujarat from 2010 to 2012. In September 2012, Shah appealed the Gujarat High Court’s decision in the Supreme Court after which he was granted bail and allowed to return to Gujarat.
Amit Shah Being Arrested
- In 2017, allegedly his son Jay Shah’s company recorded a growth of 16,000 times in just a year after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister and Amit Shah became the President of the BJP. It led to a lot of parties asking for Amit Shah’s resignation from the post of the President of the BJP. Many people claimed that Jay Shah was being helped and Amit Shah should also be investigated.
Amit Shah With Jay Shah
Address
- 16, Sudeep Society, Royal Crescent, Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad
Assets & Properties
- Bank Deposits: Rs. 16.70 Lacs
- Debentures & Bonds: Rs. 16.30 Crores
- Jewellery: 910 gm Gold worth Rs. 34 Lacs
- Agricultural Land: in Vadnagar, Gujarat worth Rs. 80 Lacs
- Agricultural Land: in Lilapur, Gujarat worth Rs. 45 Lacs
- Non-Agricultural Land: in Shilaj, Gujarat worth Rs. 6 Crores
- Commercial Building: in Ahmedabad, Gujarat worth Rs. 1.50 Crore
- Commercial Building: in Ahmedabad, Gujarat worth Rs. 1.55 Crore
- Commercial Building: in Memnagar, Gujarat worth Rs. 15 Lacs
- Residential Building: in Gandhinagar worth Rs. 20 Lacs
- Residential Building: in Ahmedabad worth Rs. 1.50 Crores
- Residential Plot: in Gandhinagar worth Rs. 71 Lacs
Facts
- In 2010, before his arrest in the Sohrabuddin case, he was being projected as Narendra Modi‘s successor as the Gujarat Chief Minister. However, after his arrest, many politicians distanced themselves from Shah and did not want to have any connections to him.
- In 1999, he was appointed as the President of the Ahmedabad District Co-Operative Bank. The bank was on the verge of closure, so they appointed him to help with the situation. Amit Shah saved the bank from going into loss, and he also made a profit of over 27 crores in just a year after he took over as the President of the bank.
- Amit Shah was so confident of Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister of India that he had predicted about this in 1990; the time when Narendra Modi had not even become the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Amit Shah With Narendra Modi
- Amit Shah loves to play chess, and he is the President of the Gujarat Chess Association.
- Amit Shah joined the BJP a year before Narendra Modi had joined.
Amit Shah And Narendra Modi
- On 19 August 2017, Amit Shah was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Amit Shah In Rajya Sabha
- In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he broke L. K. Advani’s victory margin record in Gandhinagar.
- On 9 December 2019, when the Citizens Amendment Bill was to be passed in the Lok Sabha, federal US commission on international religious freedom has sought American sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah and the principal Indian leadership if the bill with the “religious criterion” is passed by both houses of Parliament. The commission also stated that the bill was a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; as it excludes Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion.
- On 9 August 2023, Amit Shah broke former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s 1965 record of speaking for 2 hours and 12 minutes during the Lok Sabha no-confidence motion debate. Shah spoke for 2 hours and 13 minutes, highlighting the centre’s achievements, criticizing the opposition, and addressing the 2023 Manipur violence during the Lok Sabha no-confidence motion debate.
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Categories: Biography
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