New Delhi: Amit Shah was born as Amitbhai Anilchandra to a rich businessman, Anilchandra Shah, in Bombay in 1964.
Despite his non-political family background and a Bachelor's degree in biochemistry, he chose to become a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) leader.
Later, Shah joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and managed election campaigns for LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
India TV brings to you 10 facts about the BJP president:
1. During his school days, Shah was a leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was associated with RSS since childhood. When he was doing his graduation, he officially became a volunteer of RSS.
2. Before joining BJP in 1986, Shah worked as a stockbroker. In 1995, he was appointed as the chairperson of Gujarat State Finance Corporation in Keshubhai Patel government.
3. He first met Narendra Modi in 1982 in the Ahmedabad RSS circles. At that time, Modi was a minor RSS pracharak, working as in-charge of youth activities in city.
4. Shah managed election campaigns for Lal Krishna Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1991 and 1996, respectively. This helped him emerge as an excellent election manager and strategist.
5. Shah was elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Sarkhej in four consecutive elections -- 1997 (by-election), 1998, 2002 and 2007.
6. After Narendra Modi's thrashing win in 2002's Gujarat assembly polls, Shah was given charge of several major sections including Home, Parliamentary Affairs, and Law and Justice.
7. In 2010, he was accused of orchestrating two fake police encounter cases when he was the state minister in charge of Home Affairs. Shah was forced to resign on the allegations of fake encounters. He was later arrested on the same charges. However, he was acquitted on finding no conclusive proof against him.
8. He was banished from Gujarat for two years by the Supreme Court confirmed his role in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. From 2010 to 2012, he utilized his time to unite with veterans of different areas of work in Delhi. He made a solid comeback to mark a historical win for BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
9. BJP made Amit Shah its party-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh elections. He was able to ensure the resounding victory for the party. Under his supervision, BJP was able to win 73 out of 80 seats.
10. He was made national president of the party in July 2014. Under his leadership, the BJP stormed to power in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
