PM at 76: The making of Narendra Modi, politician, brand and phenomenon

Mitron…

Long before “Hey guys” became the default greeting of the creator economy, there was a politician who could make one word instantly identifiable with him.

Today, Narendra Damodardas Modi turns 76.

There will be wishes, cakes, ceremonies, political messages and, inevitably, social media hashtags. In Gujarat, celebrations have already ranged from 76,000 diyas and 76,000 saplings to a bike rally connecting Vadnagar and Varanasi.

But birthdays are also convenient milestones from which to look backward.

And at 76, Modi has quite a distance to look back upon.

From Vadnagar to Gandhinagar and eventually 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, it has been a political journey spanning decades. For nearly 25 consecutive years, he has headed a government—first Gujarat and then India.

Along the way, Narendra Modi has become many things to many people: politician, administrator, campaigner, orator, global statesman to supporters, formidable adversary to opponents and one of the most recognisable political personalities India has produced.

For the media and advertising industry, he has been something else too: a case study in the construction, consistency and reinvention of a political brand.

From Vadnagar to the BJP organisation

Born on September 17, 1950, in Vadnagar in Gujarat, Modi came from a family of modest means and has frequently invoked his early years and his association with his family's tea stall as part of his personal story.

His political foundations, however, were built in organisation rather than elected office.

He became associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and worked as an RSS pracharak before moving into the Bharatiya Janata Party organisation.

By 1987, he was working as General Secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit. He later moved into national organisational roles, becoming a BJP National Secretary in 1995 and taking responsibility for party work in states including Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

This part of the Modi story is sometimes overshadowed by everything that followed, but it is crucial to understanding his political career.

Before Modi became the face on the poster, he spent years helping build the organisation behind it.

Then came 2001.

The Gujarat years

On October 7, 2001, Narendra Modi took oath as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

He would remain in that position until May 2014, becoming the state's longest-serving Chief Minister.

Those 13 years created the national political identity that would eventually take him to Delhi.

His government promoted Gujarat aggressively as an investment destination, with the Vibrant Gujarat summits becoming a prominent showcase of the state's economic pitch. Development, infrastructure, investment and administrative efficiency became central to the political proposition subsequently projected nationally around Modi.

The Gujarat years were also marked by the 2002 communal riots, which became one of the most contested chapters of his political career. Modi and his government faced years of political criticism and scrutiny over the violence. In 2012, a court-appointed Special Investigation Team said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him over allegations relating to the riots, and in 2022 the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the SIT's closure report.

By the beginning of the next decade, however, Modi's ambitions and political relevance were clearly no longer confined to Gujarat.

In 2013, the BJP named him its prime ministerial candidate.

The stage was set for 2014.

The election that changed Brand Modi

The 2014 general election wasn't merely a victory for Narendra Modi.

It transformed the grammar of Indian political campaigning.

“Abki Baar Modi Sarkar.”

“Achhe Din Aane Wale Hain.”

“Chai Pe Charcha.”

The campaign placed Modi at its centre with a clarity rarely seen in Indian parliamentary elections. His humble origins became part of the political narrative; “chaiwala”, initially deployed by opponents as a jibe, was incorporated into the campaign itself.

Technology was used aggressively. There were 3D hologram rallies, social media outreach, carefully constructed events and a presidential-style focus on the candidate.

The BJP won 282 Lok Sabha seats, giving a single party a parliamentary majority for the first time since 1984.

On May 26, 2014, Narendra Modi was sworn in as India's 14th Prime Minister.

The organiser had become the country's principal political protagonist.

2014, 2019, 2024

Five years later came an even bigger BJP mandate.

In 2019, the party won 303 Lok Sabha seats and Modi returned as Prime Minister.

The 2024 verdict was different. The BJP won 240 seats, falling short of a majority on its own, but the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance secured enough seats to form the government. On June 9, 2024, Modi took oath as Prime Minister for a third consecutive term.

That distinction itself puts him in a small historical club.

He became only the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to begin a third consecutive term in office.

The scale of the political journey is striking: the BJP organisation man who entered the Gujarat Chief Minister's Office in 2001 has now spent almost a quarter of a century continuously at the head of a state or national government.

When the politician became the brand

Somewhere during that journey, Narendra Modi stopped being simply the name of a politician.

“Modi” became a political brand.

And like the strongest brands, it developed recognisable assets.

The voice is one.

The vocabulary is another.

Mitron.

Bhaiyon aur behno.

Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Viksit Bharat.

Then there is the visual identity.

The half-sleeved kurta became so closely associated with him that it acquired its own popular shorthand: the “Modi kurta”. The sleeveless jackets, shawls, elaborate Independence Day turbans and regional headgear became recurring features of his public appearances.

Clothing, in Modi's political communication, has often carried symbolism.

A Himachali cap in Himachal Pradesh. Regional headgear at public events. Handloom. Khadi. The gamchha that became particularly visible during the Covid years.

Whether one sees this simply as sartorial preference or carefully considered political imagery, few contemporary Indian politicians have built such a distinct and instantly recognisable visual vocabulary.

In an age in which every public appearance produces hundreds of photographs and thousands of social posts, clothes are communication too.

From Prime Minister to ‘Vishwaguru’ narrative

Modi's third decade in frontline politics has also coincided with a deliberate expansion of his international political imagery.

Large diaspora events, bilateral meetings, G20 imagery, state visits and his interactions with global leaders have become an important component of his domestic public persona.

Alongside this has grown the political vocabulary of India as a potential “Vishwaguru” or world teacher.

It is important to distinguish the slogan from an objective assessment. “Vishwaguru” is an aspirational political idea championed by Modi and the BJP; India's international influence and the government's foreign-policy record remain subjects of legitimate political debate.

But as political branding, the progression is noteworthy.

The narrative has moved from Gujarat's development to India's development, and from there to India's place in the world.

For supporters, Modi's international visibility represents a more assertive India on the global stage. Critics contest aspects of that narrative and point to the complexities of India's diplomatic, economic and democratic record.

Either way, the international image is now firmly embedded in Brand Modi.

Fashion, radio, social media and knowing the medium

Then comes communication.

If there is one thread running through Modi's career, it is his understanding that political communication changes when the medium changes.

The rally remained important, but radio returned through Mann Ki Baat.

Television mattered, but so did direct digital communication.

Twitter, now X, became a major political channel. Instagram followed. YouTube became another direct distribution engine. The NaMo app created an owned platform.

Today, Modi commands audiences on social platforms on a scale comparable with some of the world's largest public figures.

But the significant point isn't simply the follower count.

It is the reduction of distance between politician and audience.

A Prime Minister no longer necessarily needs a newspaper front page or the 9 pm bulletin to carry every message. He can publish it himself.

That change extends far beyond Modi and has transformed Indian political communication across parties.

And now, Gen Z

At 76, Modi is also confronting a generation born long after he entered politics.

His recent push encouraging ministers to engage more actively with Instagram and Reels indicates recognition of another generational change in political communication.

But this is only the latest chapter, rather than the defining feature of his career.

Platforms will come and go.

Orkut disappeared. Twitter became X. Short-form video exploded. Tomorrow's political platform may look entirely different.

Modi's political career has so far outlasted several generations of media technology.

That may be the more interesting story.

At 76

It is difficult to tell the story of Indian politics over the past quarter-century without Narendra Modi occupying a substantial part of it.

October 2026 will mark 25 years since he first became the head of a government.

There have been three general election victories for the NDA under his leadership, more than a decade as Prime Minister, 13 years as Gujarat Chief Minister and decades before that spent inside the machinery of political organisation.

There have also been controversies, political battles, policy disruptions, electoral setbacks and fierce disagreements over his government's record. His tenure has produced passionate support and equally passionate opposition.

That is politics.

But birthdays allow a different kind of snapshot.

At 76, Modi remains at the centre of India's political conversation and in his third term as Prime Minister. The boy born in Vadnagar in 1950 has travelled from an RSS organisation office to the Gujarat Chief Minister's residence to the Prime Minister's Office.

The political worker became Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister became prime-ministerial candidate.

The candidate became Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister became a three-term Prime Minister.

And somewhere along the way, the name became a brand, the kurta became a signature, the slogans became campaign assets and “Mitron” became instantly recognisable political shorthand.

So, today, perhaps one last use of the word is permitted.

Mitron, Narendra Modi is 76.

And after nearly 25 years at the head of a government, India's most enduring contemporary political brand is still very much on the job.