Modi was born in a middle-class family on September 17, 1950. His father Damodarbhai was a small-time businessman.

Born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben in Mehsana, Narendra was the third among six children.

As a boy, Narendra Modi ran a tea-stall alongwith his brother. He sold tea for many years.

Narendra Modi was active in politics from a very young age. He has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his childhood.

Narendra Modi became a part of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), after making a mark in its student wing - the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Narendra Modi rose up the political ranks once the BJP came to power in Gujarat in 1995. Within the next six years, Mr Modi went on from being the national secretary to the general secretary, and finally in 2001, he was entrusted by his party to take charge as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Narendra Modi is the longest serving chief Minister of Gujarat - he has been the chief minister of Gujarat since October 7, 2011.

Taking over as chief minister could not have come at a tougher time for Modi. Gujarat had witnessed a devastating earthquake earlier that year, and growth was almost non-existent in the state. However, Mr Modi's unique ideas and administrative skills soon got Gujarat back on the road to recovery and progress.

During Narendra Modi's tenure as the CM, world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano, made its way into Gujarat.

During Modi's tenure Gujarat has emerged as the only state where 18,000 villages were provided with 24-hours-uninterrupted electricity under the Jyotigram scheme.

Gujarat, a state which until some time back had taken a loan of USD 50,000 crores from World Bank, today has a buffer of USD 100,000 crores deposited in the World Bank.

Modi's image suffered a setback after the Gujarat riots of 2002. Following the riots, Modi resigned as CM but he took charge once again. Shortly after, the BJP won the state re-elections, being led by none other than Modi himself.

Time magazine did a cover story stating that in the 2014 general elections, Narendra Modi would be a serious contender for the Prime Minister's post along with Congress heir Rahul Gandhi.