Amit Shah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amit Shah
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| 32nd Minister of Home Affairs | |
| Assumed office 30 May 2019 |
|
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Rajnath Singh |
| 1st Union Minister of Cooperation | |
| Assumed office 7 July 2021 |
|
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 23 May 2019 |
|
| Preceded by | Lal Krishna Advani |
| Constituency | Gandhinagar, Gujarat |
| Majority | 744,716 (56.34%) |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 19 August 2017 – 29 May 2019 |
|
| Preceded by | Dilip Pandya |
| Succeeded by | Subrahmanyam Jaishankar |
| Constituency | Gujarat |
| 3rd Chairperson of National Democratic Alliance |
|
| Assumed office 9 July 2014 |
|
| National President |
|
| Preceded by | L. K. Advani |
| 10th National President of Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| In office 9 July 2014 – 20 January 2020 |
|
| Preceded by | Rajnath Singh |
| Succeeded by | Jagat Prakash Nadda |
| Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 2012–2017 |
|
| Preceded by | constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Kaushik Patel |
| Constituency | Naranpura |
| In office 1997–2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Harishchandra Lavjibhai Patel |
| Succeeded by | constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Sarkhej |
| Minister of State, Government of Gujarat | |
| In office 2002–2012 |
|
| Departments | Home, Law and Justice, Prison, Border Security, Civil Defence, Excise, Home Guards, Transport, Prohibition, Gram Rakshak Dal, Police Housing, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs |
| Chief Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Amit Anil Chandra Shah
22 October 1964 Bombay, Maharashtra, India (present-day Mumbai) |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Other political affiliations |
National Democratic Alliance |
| Spouse |
Sonal Shah
(m. 1987) |
| Children | Jay Shah (son) |
| Residences | 6A, Krishna Menon Marg, New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Alma mater | Gujarat University |
| Occupation | Politician |
Amitbhai Anilchandra Shah, born on October 22, 1964, is an important Indian politician. He currently serves as the 32nd Minister of Home Affairs since May 2019. He is also the first Minister of Co-operation since July 2021. He is a member of parliament (MP) for Gandhinagar.
From 2014 to 2020, he was the 10th president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has also been the chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) since 2014. Before this, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of India's parliament, representing Gujarat from 2017 to 2019.
Mr. Shah is known as a key planner for the BJP. He is a close helper of Narendra Modi, who is the Prime Minister of India. He also served as a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. He represented Naranpura from 2012 to 2017 and Sarkhej from 1997 to 2012. He was also a minister in the Gujarat government under Narendra Modi from 2002 to 2012. During his college years, he was part of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student group. He joined the BJP in 1987.
Contents
Early Life & Education
Growing Up in India
Amit Shah was born in Mumbai on October 22, 1964. He comes from a Gujarati Hindu family. His family was involved in business. His father, Anil Chandra Shah, had a successful business making PVC pipes.
School and College Years
He went to school in Mehsana. Later, he moved to Ahmedabad to study biochemistry at CU Shah Science College. He earned a Bachelor's of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Biochemistry. After college, he worked in his father's business. He also worked as a stockbroker and in cooperative banks in Ahmedabad.
Early Connections to Politics
Mr. Shah was involved with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from a young age. He joined the RSS as a volunteer during his college days. He first met Narendra Modi in 1982 through the RSS groups in Ahmedabad. At that time, Modi was an RSS pracharak, which means a full-time worker, in charge of youth activities.
Beginning in Politics
Joining Political Groups
Amit Shah started his political journey in 1982 by joining the RSS. Soon after, he met Narendra Modi. Modi suggested he join the student group of the RSS, called the ABVP. Shah joined the ABVP in 1983. He then joined the BJP in 1987. He became active in the BJP's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). He moved up in the BJYM, holding different roles like ward secretary and general secretary. He became known for his good management skills. He managed the election campaign for Lal Krishna Advani in Gandhinagar during the 1991 national elections.
Building BJP's Presence
In 1995, the BJP formed its first government in Gujarat. Keshubhai Patel became the Chief Minister. At that time, the Indian National Congress was very strong in rural Gujarat. Modi and Shah worked together to help the BJP grow in these areas. They found influential local leaders and encouraged them to join the BJP. They built a large network of these leaders across many villages.
Modi and Shah also worked to reduce the Congress party's influence over the state's important co-operatives. These co-operatives are important for the state's economy. In 1999, Shah was elected as the president of the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB). This was one of the biggest cooperative banks in India. The bank was losing a lot of money. Shah helped turn the bank around, making it profitable within a year.
Shah also became involved in sports organizations. He served as the president of the Gujarat State Chess Association. In 2009, he became the vice-president of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA). In 2014, after Modi became Prime Minister, Shah became the president of GCA.
Becoming an MLA
Modi helped Shah get bigger roles in politics. He helped Shah become the chairman of the Gujarat State Financial Corporation. In 1997, Shah won a special election for the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from Sarkhej. He became an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) and kept his seat in the 1998 elections.
Gujarat State Government Role
In October 2001, Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Over the next few years, Modi and Shah worked closely. Shah won the 2002 and 2007 Assembly elections from Sarkhej with many votes.
During Modi's time as Gujarat CM, Shah became a very powerful leader. After the 2002 elections, he became the youngest minister in Modi's government. He was given many important jobs. At one point, he managed 12 different departments. These included Home, Law and Justice, Transport, and Parliamentary Affairs.
Shah also helped pass important laws in Gujarat. He supported the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Act. He also played a role in the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill, which made religious conversions more difficult in the state.
Rise in National Politics
When Narendra Modi became the BJP's candidate for Prime Minister, Amit Shah's influence grew. He became known as a very good election campaign manager. People called him a "modern-day Chanakya and master strategist." Shah was made a BJP general secretary and put in charge of Uttar Pradesh (UP). This was a big responsibility because UP is a very important state for elections.
2014 General Election Campaign
Success in Uttar Pradesh
Amit Shah's political career became even stronger after the BJP won the 2014 Indian general election. In Uttar Pradesh, where Shah was in charge, the BJP and its allies won 73 out of 80 seats. Shah had been working in Uttar Pradesh for less than a year before the elections. He studied why the Samajwadi Party had won the previous elections. He realized that voters were not happy with the Samajwadi Party.
Shah carefully chose candidates for the elections. He focused on how popular a candidate was locally and their chance of winning. He set up small management committees for each of the 140,000 voting booths in the state. His team made lists of voters and reached out to them directly. Shah also used special mobile vans with GPS to reach people in far-off areas. He visited 76 out of the 80 Lok Sabha areas. He also suggested that Modi should run for election from Varanasi.
Shah convinced Modi to use volunteers from the RSS for campaigning. These volunteers helped organize and check on the campaigners. Shah also helped arrange large rallies for Modi. He made sure that local village leaders felt a personal connection to Modi's victory.
Campaigning Across India
Shah also played a key role in the BJP's election strategy outside Uttar Pradesh. He focused on showing Modi as a strong leader. He also helped form alliances between the BJP and other regional parties, like Pattali Makkal Katchi.
President of the BJP (2014–2019)
In July 2014, Amit Shah was chosen to be the president of the BJP. He was re-elected on January 24, 2016. As president, Shah started a big campaign to get more members. By March 2015, the BJP said it had 100 million members.
From 2014 to 2016, the BJP won state elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, and Assam. However, they lost elections in Delhi and Bihar.
Shah also led the campaigning for the 2017 state elections. The party won big in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This was a great success for the BJP. They also did well in Manipur. The BJP won the 2017 Gujarat elections for a record sixth time. In March 2018, the BJP won in Tripura for the first time. They also gained power in Nagaland and Meghalaya with their allies.
Shah led the BJP to a big victory in the 2019 Indian general election. He became a very successful BJP president. During the election campaign, he visited many areas across India. He held many public meetings and BJP meetings. Shah set a goal for the BJP to win more than 300 seats, calling it "Mission 300 Par." The BJP achieved this goal under his leadership.
He is often compared to Chanakya, a wise ancient Indian teacher and advisor. Chanakya was known for his knowledge of economics, politics, and governance. Shah also enjoys reading the Bhagavata Purana.
Union Cabinet Minister (2019–Present)
Minister of Home Affairs
.jpg)
Amit Shah became a Cabinet Minister on May 30, 2019. He took office as the Minister of Home Affairs on June 1, 2019.
Important Decisions
On August 5, 2019, Shah proposed a plan to change Article 370. This article gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The plan was to divide the state into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
In September 2019, Shah spoke about the need for one unifying language in India. He suggested that the Hindi language could help unite the country. He also asked people to use Hindi more often.
In March 2024, Amit Shah mentioned that the government might consider removing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir.
New Laws and Policies
On November 19, 2019, Shah announced that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be put into action across India.
In December 2019, he introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. This law offers Indian citizenship to certain minority groups who came to India before 2015 from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan due to religious persecution.
Electoral Performance
Since 1989, Amit Shah has participated in 28 elections for various local government positions.
| Election | Year | Constituency | Result | Votes | % of votes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gujarat Legislative Assembly (by-election) | 1997 | Sarkhej | Won | 76,839 | 56.10% | |
| Gujarat Legislative Assembly | 1998 | Sarkhej | Won | 193,373 | 69.81% | |
| Gujarat Legislative Assembly | 2002 | Sarkhej | Won | 288,327 | 66.98% | |
| Gujarat Legislative Assembly | 2007 | Sarkhej | Won | 407,659 | 68.00% | |
| Gujarat Legislative Assembly | 2012 | Naranpura | Won | 103,988 | 69.19% | |
| Indian general election | 2019 | Gandhinagar | Won | 888,210 | 69.76% | |
| Indian general election | 2024 | Gandhinagar | Won | 10,10,972 | 76.5% |
Personal Life
Amit Shah is married to Sonal Shah. They have a son named Jay Shah.
His mother passed away on June 8, 2010.
People who know Mr. Shah say he prefers a quiet life and doesn't socialize much.
He has six sisters, two of whom live in Chicago.
In September 2019, he had a small operation for a lipoma on his neck.
On August 2, 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the hospital.
See Also
- Third Modi ministry
Images for kids
-
Amit Shah and Udit Raj
